While the basketball team might not have King Kofi coming back next season, the Illinois football team does have a Prince coming in.
At the beginning of this week, Illini fans rejoiced as another player committed for the class of 2021. Prince Green decided to end his recruitment and Champaign is his final destination. This was a great pick up for the Orange and Blue and one that continues to improve the team for the future.
Coming out of Griffin High School in Georgia, Prince is rated as a three-star recruit and is the No. 1126 player in the class of 2021. He is listed as a wide receiver in the recruiting rankings, but Illinois has plans to bring him into the program as a defensive back. This is great news for the Illini because defensive back is a position of need.
Back in late March, the Writing Illini had a chance to briefly chat with Prince about his recruitment. He mentioned then that Illinois was still recruiting him. At the time, he wanted to visit the campus and there was an attraction to the program.
“What attracts me to Illinois is the great program and the fans.”
Clearly that attraction was strong enough to get a commitment from Prince. But I wanted to go a little deeper into why the talented defensive back decided to pull the trigger and commit to Illinois. Why did he pick the Orange and Blue?
“I feel Illinois is a great program with a lot of tradition, a great coaching staff and an amazing fanbase. They really recruited me hard and made me feel like, if I work hard, I have an opportunity to contribute right away! I think my game can grow there, and that I can get a degree from a prestigious university, develop my game there and achieve one of my ultimate goals of playing professionally.”
All of the reasons Prince mentions above are great for any player coming into a program. Illinois can provide all of those and that is why we have now bulked up our secondary heading into 2021.
But what are Lovie Smith and the Illini coaching staff getting with a player like Prince? What does he bring to the table that will help this team win games?
“I am going to bring a lot of heart! I will bring a lot of competitiveness and I think iron sharpens iron so that will make me, as well as my teammates, that much better! I will bring great cover and ball skills, Big Ten playmaking abilities and high energy! Illinois has an amazing fanbase that will only motivate me more!”
Prince is right, the Illinois fanbase is incredible. The kid is going to win a lot of people over with the words spoken above. He will also win a lot of people over with his play on the football field. His abilities are evident when you watch him play the game.
But with every great player comes room for improvement. Even the greatest players always work on their game. Prince sees room for improvement in his game as well.
“I play both sides of the ball at wide receiver and as a cornerback, so playing both helps me notice certain things that can help me make big plays in every way I can! I am constantly working and trying to find ways to get better. I think this upcoming season, I want to work on being even more focused on film and studying my opponents. Using that will help me become even better. I want to be the best student-athlete that I can be!”
Prince is coming in with the right attitude. Lovie and the Illini coaches are recruiting specific players who can help this team on the field and in the locker room. I believe landing a player like Prince will help on both fronts.
I can’t wait to see who the Illini will add next. Prince is going to add to a talented secondary filled with great players. This program has an extremely bright future.