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Illinois Football: Top 5 Illini recruiting targets left for 2020

By Rees Woodcock

EAST LANSING, MI - NOVEMBER 09: Illinois head coach Lovie Smith watches his team warm up prior to a college football game between the Michigan State Spartans and Illinois Fighting Illini on November 9, 2019 at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, MI. (Photo by Adam Ruff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - NOVEMBER 09: Illinois head coach Lovie Smith watches his team warm up prior to a college football game between the Michigan State Spartans and Illinois Fighting Illini on November 9, 2019 at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, MI. (Photo by Adam Ruff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS – NOVEMBER 02: The Illinois Fighting Illini helmet on the field after a win over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Memorial Stadium on November 02, 2019 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

The Illinois football team is trying to build a powerhouse program in the middle of the Midwest.

I think we are off to a good start in accomplishing this goal. Illinois is trending upwards in every way imaginable. We were bringing in talented recruits from the high school ranks and through the transfer portal. We are now winning games on the football field as well.

But building a powerhouse program is going to take more talent coming in. We are going to need to start bringing in players of a higher caliber if we want to compete with the big boys of the college football world. That is why the class of 2020 is so important. We need to continue this positive momentum.

As of right now, Illinois has a total of eight players committed for 2020. We rank No. 88 nationally and No. 13 in the Big Ten. But that ranking is so low because of the quantity, not quality. The players who are committed right now are extremely talented. We have four players in the top 500 and each player fills a hole on the team.

There are quite a few players still out there for Illinois to pull in, though. The work is not even close to being over. This class is nowhere near being completed.

Here are the top five Illini recruiting targets left for 2020.

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