There were multiple recruits who kept the Illinois football team alive in their top lists on Sunday.
Running back is a priority position for the Illini right now. Reggie Corbin is going to have another big year, but he will be done after the 2019 campaign. Having Reggie Love come in behind him is a huge plus for the Orange and Blue. But we need another running back to go alongside Love in the backfield. That ball carrier could be Quadre Nicholson.
Nicholson is a 6-foot, 185-pound running back from Evanston Township High School in Evanston, Illinois. He is rated a three-star recruit who is the No. 1325 player in the class of 2020 and the No. 81 running back in the nation. He is also the No. 26 player in the state of Illinois as well.
There were a lot of teams vying for Nicholson’s commitment. He has so many offers that it surprised me he was sub-1000 in the recruiting rankings. I believe the rankings are probably a little off with Nicholson. He has now decided to trim his list a little bit. He is now down to just five programs competing for this young running back. The five teams left include Cincinnati, Missouri, Purdue, Iowa and Illinois.
Illinois has been a program that Nicholson has been visiting a lot this year. He has been on two unofficial visits over the last six months. I would think the Illini are in the driver’s seat for him right now.
Back in March, the Writing Illini had a chance to chat with Nicholson about his recruitment. He had the Illini up there as one of his top teams then and liked the program because of the atmosphere, and he had family attending Illinois. Also, one of the keys to Nicholson’s interest in the Illini is Coach Mike Bellamy. When Coach Bellamy was with Toledo, he started to recruit Nicholson. That solid relationship carried over to Champaign.
Getting Nicholson would be a solid pickup for the Illini. This kid is a talented running back with a myriad of teams vying for his commitment. Hopefully, we can close this one out and have one of the best backfields in the Big Ten.