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Illinois Football: Illini have home visit with state champ Antonio Johnson

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL. - NOVEMBER 02: Members of the Illinois Fighting Illini enter the field before a Big Ten Conference football game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini on November 02, 2019, at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL. - NOVEMBER 02: Members of the Illinois Fighting Illini enter the field before a Big Ten Conference football game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini on November 02, 2019, at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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This is an important time for the Illinois football team and their recruiting efforts for the class of 2020.

We are in the contact period of recruiting where coaches can make in-home visits with recruits and try to convince them to come play for their program. There are only about two weeks of this time in December, though. That is why the Illinois coaching staff is doing some work. Tight ends coach Cory Patterson had an in-home visit with Antonio Johnson on Monday.

Johnson is a 6-foot-2, 179-pound safety from East St. Louis High School in East St. Louis, Illinois. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 119 player in the class of 2020 and the No. 8 safety in the nation. He is also the No. 3 player in the state of Illinois.

Illinois has been after Johnson for a while now. An offer from the Illini came in November 2018. He then visited Champaign in April of 2019. At one time, Johnson was committed to playing for Tennessee, but that commitment ended when he reopened his recruitment back in July. Texas A&M came calling and in September, Johnson decided to commit to the Aggies.


I wouldn’t say this recruitment is over by any means. Illinois clearly feels they see a gap in his commitment to potentially flip the kid. The thing that scares me the most here is the fact he is scheduled for an official visit to Texas A&M on December 13, which is less than a week before the early signing period.

Illinois has a few aces up their sleeve, though. Coach Patterson is from the area, so he has a solid recruiting presence that could help sway Johnson to come to Champaign. The defensive backs coach at East St. Louis High School, Terry Hawthorne, played for Illinois about a decade ago. Having a solid Illinois voice in the Flyers locker room is always a good thing too.

Next. Numbers show where the Illini hit lulls. dark

Overall, this is probably a tough recruit to flip despite him already flipping once. But Illinois does have boots on the ground. I wouldn’t count the Orange and Blue out of this one just yet.

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