St. Louis is a hotbed for the Illinois football team when it comes to recruiting.
The Illini have plucked out some of the top talent from the St. Louis area. The hiring of tight ends coach and former Trinity Catholic High School head coach Cory Patterson has helped with recruiting St. Louis. Illinois isn’t just targeting one school, though. They are in the mix for multiple players from different programs in the area. Noah Arinze is one of those recruits who the Illini are squarely in the mix for.
Arinze is a 6-foot-6, 240-pound weakside defensive end from Webster Groves High School in St. Louis, Missouri. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 511 player in the class of 2020 and the No. 18 weakside defensive end in the nation. He is also the No. 9 player in the state of Missouri as well.
On Monday night, Arinze decided to cut down his list to just 10 teams vying for his commitment. He announced the list would but cut down at 7:30 PM central time and then he made the cut later that night. The 10 teams who made the list include Arkansas State, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Arizona State, Iowa State, Wisconsin and Illinois.
I am extremely grateful for every school that has shown interest in me. These are my Top 10 schools recruitment still open. #EliteOrNothing #SBG #Critcal pic.twitter.com/1wOa4qbrwl
— NoahArinze (@ArinzeNoah) May 28, 2019
As of right now, Oklahoma is the leader in the clubhouse according to 247Sports. Illinois’ main recruit for Arinze is defensive line coach, Austin Clark. He has done some good work since coming over a couple of years back. Getting a player like Arinze would be a big get for his defensive line.
Obviously, there are some pretty big programs fighting for Arinze. All of these teams can be a big threat when it comes to landing this kid. But Illinois is going to need some more defensive line help soon. All of the young Illinois defensive ends are now juniors and will be graduating in the next couple of seasons. Having a top 600 player come in to replace these talented pass rushers would be huge for the program.
Illinois is now in the mix for a talented defensive lineman in Arinze. This kid can play, and he is now choosing from 10 teams to continue his football career with. Hopefully, the Illini can make the next cut and get an official visit.