Illinois Football: Illini building momentum in the recruiting market

The Illinois football coaching staff has been gaining a lot of momentum in recruiting lately.

Lovie Smith and his staff have landed a lot of players in the past four weeks. Illinois has been able to bring in a total of six new faces into the program. Four of those players have been in the month of May alone. The new players who you will see over the next couple of years include Brevyn Jones, Brian Hightower, TreSean Smith, Tyler Moffit, Prince Green and Chinedu Udeogu.

It is good that the Orange and Blue has landed so many players. I mainly say this because most of the players they gave landed recently are transfers. Jones, Hightower, Smith and Udeogu are all all coming in from other college programs.

Both Jones and Hightower won’t be available for the Illini this season, though. They have to sit out a year due to NCAA transfer rules. But Illinois really bulked up their defensive line with the addition of Udeogu, and they solidified the secondary with Smith at safety. All of these players were great gets for the program.

I haven’t even mentioned the fact Illinois landed transfers Desmond Dan, Christian Bell and Blake Jeresaty over the past year too. This can possibly attract more transfers because there are always players in the transfer portal looking for a new home.

Another reason the recent surge in commitments is good is that the class of 2021 was small. Currently, there are three players signed up for 2021. Those players are Samari Collier, Tyler Moffit and Prince Green. So, this momentum that they recently gained in recruiting could help attract more 2021 prospects.

I like the fact the Orange and Blue have momentum in recruiting right now. It should attract more high school and transfer players. They have been targeting a lot of skilled players. Hopefully, this hot streak continues in the coming weeks.