When Quadre Nicholson announced his top 10 a little over a month ago, it was some big news for the Illinois football team.
Nicholson is a big-time player. He is a three-star recruit who is the No. 1068 player in the class of 2020 and the No. 71 running back in the nation. He is also the No. 17 player in the state of Illinois as well. The fact he is right around the top 1000 and is an in-state product is important for the Illini. It was also important that he cut his list and kept Illinois alive as well.
There were some pretty big names in the top 10 list Nicholson posted back on February 11. The 10 teams who made the cut were Toledo, Miami (OH), Oklahoma State, Indiana, Michigan State, Boston College, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois.
I was curious why Nicholson kept the Orange and Blue on his list. What made Illinois a possible destination? He filled the Writing Illini in on his thoughts.
“I chose Illinois to be one of the schools I am interested in mainly because of the team’s atmosphere and what they have to provide for me,” said Nicholson, “I have an older sibling attending the school as well, which makes it convenient for my family.”
I have noticed two huge things for recruits since I have been paying attention to recruiting. Players like atmosphere and family. The feeling of the program and how the family likes everything is keys to getting a player to come to play for your team. It sounds like Illinois has both of those things in their back pocket right now.
Another big factor is which coach is recruiting you. There are some coaches better than others on the recruiting trail. I noticed that one of the recruiting sites had running backs coach Mike Bellamy as the recruiter for Nicholson. I picked the young running backs brain about if Coach Bellamy was his recruiter and when he started to pursue him as a player.
“Yeah, that is true, he started recruiting me at Toledo,” said Nicholson, “I have a very good relationship with him.”
That bond between coaches and players is something that is developed over time. But, there are a couple of handfuls of other coaches pursuing this kid as well. They could be developing a nice relationship with him too. I asked Nicholson if he had any visit plans coming up to see where he stood as of right now.
“Yeah, I am planning on going out to Boston College because they want me to come out there,” said Nicholson, “But, I would love to take an official visit to U of I, hopefully, after the new football facility is built.”
The projected finish of the Smith Center is slated for before the 2019 season kicks off. That means there is a potential for Nicholson to visit sometime in August.
The Illinois football team is building towards a great program. The facilities are upgrading, the coaching staff is looking solid and the talent is upgrading. Getting someone like Nicholson into the program would only help this team win in the future.