Illinois Football: Illini extend offer to 2021 OT Jakiah Leftwich

Over the last couple of weeks, the Illinois football team has been busy extending scholarship offers to players who could help the program in the future.

A big focus now and over the past couple of recruiting classes has been the offensive line. Without a sound offensive line, the offense can’t move the ball. The running game won’t work and there is potential to get the quarterback hurt. That is why snagging someone like Jakiah Leftwich would be big for the Illini.

Leftwich is a 6-foot-6, 290-pound offensive tackle from Westlake High School and resides in Atlanta, Georgia. He isn’t rated or ranked by 247Sports, but this kid has to be a solid recruit for the class of 2021. He already has so many big-time scholarship offers.

Illinois is one of Leftwich’s most recent offers, but he also has offers in from teams like South Carolina, Florida State and Arizona State, just to name a few. I would imagine, when the rankings are updated, this kid is going to be a three-star who is somewhere around No. 500 in the nation.

The first thing that stands out to me about Leftwich’s game is his size. He already has the size for the next level. He has the ability to play the position at a high-level too. I think with the proper training and knowledge from a college coaching staff, this kid could turn into a great offensive lineman.

Illinois is always looking for more offensive linemen too. Over the next two years, we will have so many players departing the program. Alex Palczewski and Vederian Lowe will both be gone. They are our two big-time starting offensive tackles right now. It is going to be hard to replace them.

But, if we could get someone like Leftwich into the program, I think the offensive line would be fine. He would come in and be a primary backup for a couple of seasons but then move into a starting role. The future is bright for this kid.