The Illinois football team received some great news on Sunday afternoon.
Illini target Tre’von Riggins decided to end his recruitment and announced that he will be committing to the University of Illinois. In addition to him coming over to the Illini, he also announced that he will be signing at his high school on Wednesday, December 18.
Riggins is a 6-foot-1.5, 265-pound defensive tackle from Lakewood High School and resides in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 811 player in the class of 2020 and the No. 70 defensive tackle in the nation. He is also the No. 111 player in the state of Florida.
The recruiting timeline for Riggins is a little different than many recruits. He committed to Miami (FL) back in January 2018. He took multiple visits to the Hurricanes over the last couple of years. But Miami has changed coaches during his commitment. Illinois came in with an offer in October 2019. Riggins went on an official visit to Champaign on October 19. He then backed away from his commitment to Miami on November 23. He is now an Illini.
Today I am thankful and honored to be a part of the University of Illinois family and I will be signing at Lakewood on Wednesday the 18th @UICoachClark @LovieSmith @IlliniFootball @IlliniCPatt @deuce_spann @247Sports @derrick8179 @IlliniRSmith @Illinois_Alma @ pic.twitter.com/lecoTWCsGf
— Tre'von Riggins (@VonRiggins) December 15, 2019
Illinois now sits with 12 commitments for 2020. We have a national recruiting ranking of No. 66 in the nation and we are No. 14 in the Big Ten. I would like to mention this again; the reason we aren’t in the top 50 in recruiting is that we don’t have a full class yet. I wouldn’t be shocked if we finish in the top 45 this season among all teams in the nation.
The ability of Illinois to land Riggins is huge for the program. Jamal Milan, Kenyon Jackson and Tymir Oliver will all depart the program after this season. We are going to need more players to man the middle of the defensive line. Riggins fits that spot perfectly.
Illinois continues to build their class of 2020. We aren’t done yet, though. Monday is a big day. Let’s see who else we can add to the mix.