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Illinois Football: Indiana commit Rodney McGraw receives Illini offer

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL. - NOVEMBER 02: Illinois head football coach Lovie Smith watches his team warm up 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: Illinois head football coach Lovie Smith watches his team warm up 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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The Illinois football team dipped their toes into the waters of the committed players on Tuesday afternoon.

Obviously, the mindset of the Illini coaching staff is to have the best defensive line in college football. I believe that is where most of the energy is spent. We have some talented defensive linemen on the roster right now. But Illinois started pursuing another great pass rusher in Rodney McGraw just a couple of days ago.

McGraw is a 6-foot-6, 235-pound weak-side defensive end from Elkhart Central High School and resides in Elkhart, Indiana. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 453 player in the class of 2021 and the No. 27 weak-side defensive end in the nation. He is also the No. 8 player in the state of Indiana.

It is great Illinois is now pursuing McGraw, but this kid is technically not on the market anymore. Back in late January, he decided to end his recruitment and picked Indiana as his landing spot. While he is committed to Indiana, the list of offers is quite impressive for the young defensive end. In addition to the Illini offer, he also has offers from teams like Penn State, Michigan State and Michigan.


The first thing that stands out about McGraw is his size. At 6-foot-6, he is much larger than a lot of the high school players. But pure size doesn’t always translate to the next level. What does translate is his speed. This kid can get off the line quickly and can get to the ball carrier. That is extremely impressive.

When watching what McGraw can do on the field, he reminds me a lot of Bobby Roundtree coming out of high school. I think there is a rawness to McGraw that could blossom into an All-Big Ten type of defensive end. That is the potential I saw in Roundtree and is what I see in McGraw too.

dark. Next. Illini come in with offer to 2022 ATH Jalil Tucker

Can Illinois make a mark in McGraw’s recruitment and potentially pull him away from the Hoosiers? There is a chance. But I think there is a lot of work for the Illini to do to accomplish this goal. But, man, this kid has some talent.

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