Illinois Football: Upgrades continue to help Illini recruiting

Over the last couple of weeks, the Illinois football team has been filling out their roster with some talent that is being looked over by other big-time programs.

Being on scholarship doesn’t necessarily mean you will work out or that you are better than someone who isn’t on scholarship. Sometimes you are just looked over for one reason or another. Lovie Smith and the Illinois coaching staff received a commitment a few days ago from a solid quarterback in Josh Beetham.

Beetham is a 6-foot-4, 212-pound pro-style quarterback from Yorkville High School and resides in Yorkville, Illinois. He isn’t rated or ranked by the recruiting sites, but the Illini had an eye out for this kid. He is someone they wanted to bring onto the football team.

Scholarships are extremely low, in fact, I think we are over our allotment right now. But the Illini clearly wanted Beetham a part of the future. So, we were able to offer him a preferred walk-on spot. This means he won’t be on scholarship, but he also won’t be potentially cut like some regular walk-ons. He is guaranteed a spot on the team.

In an interview with Tim O’Halloran of Rivals, Beetham explained why he picked Illinois. All of the things he said have been improvements since Lovie took over the program. He loved the facilities. He thought highly of the coaching staff and their NFL knowledge. These are two things I believe a lot of recruits are looking for on the recruiting trail. Illinois is able to bring this to the table.

Lovie and the Illini coaching staff were able to convince Beetham to pass up scholarship money to come play for the Orange and Blue. That means they are doing something right. I love that we continue to build depth at, arguably, the most important position on the field.