This upcoming weekend is the biggest one in the offseason for the Illinois football team.
Lovie Smith and this Illini coaching staff are having a myriad of recruits visiting the program for their annual cookout dubbed Grill on the Grove. This cookout is crucial to show these talented players the atmosphere surrounding the team. One of the many players who will be up for the cookout is Blaise Sparks.
Sparks is a 6-foot-7, 301-pound offensive tackle from North Fort Myers High School in North Fort Myers, Florida. He isn’t rated or ranked in the class of 2020 by the main recruiting sites, but this kid has some serious recruiting attention.
Usually, ranked players have lower level DI programs or FCS teams coming after them. But that isn’t the case with Sparks. He isn’t ranked or rated but still has teams like Pittsburgh, Temple and Illinois all wanting his services.
Like previously mentioned, Sparks will be up on the 26th for the Grill on the Grove cookout. This is an unofficial visit and, hopefully, won’t be the last time he is in Champaign. The Writing Illini was able to gather some information from someone in the Sparks camp about where the young tackle’s head is at in regards to his recruitment.
As of right now, according to the source, while Sparks is focusing on a few teams, Illinois is the top team on his list. He needs to still see the school and meet the coaches to see how he gels with them before making a definite determination, though.
One of the big recruiting chips in the Illini favor right now is former offensive lineman, Marques Sullivan. Sullivan had a great four-year career with the Illini in which he was named first-team All-American his senior year.
Sullivan has been training Sparks this offseason. This has helped prepare the 2020 target for what is to come at the college level. Sullivan was also the person who told Sparks about Illinois and the football program up in Champaign.
I am excited about the potential of snagging another offensive lineman. Illinois needs to bulk up the front lines if they want to win on a consistent basis. Sparks would be a great addition to this team.