7. Zeiqui Lawton – Top 5
The Illinois coaching staff has been all over the country recruiting. They aren’t leaving any stone unturned at this point. One of the newer recruited areas of the country for the Illini would be out is West Virginia. That is where you would find Zeiqui Lawton.
Lawton is a 6-foot-3, 240-pound strong-side defensive end from South Charleston High School and resides in Charleston, West Virginia. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 511 player in the class of 2021 and the No. 32 strong-side defensive end in the nation. He is also the No. 3 player in the state of West Virginia.
There were a ton of teams coming after Lawton in hopes of bringing him into their program. But the young defensive end decided to narrow the scope of his recruitment down to just five teams. The five programs vying for his commitment include Cincinnati, Boise State, Oregon, West Virginia and Illinois.
Obviously, I would think the Mountaineers would be the heavy favorite in this recruitment. Lawton is from West Virginia and they are the in-state program. It would make sense for them to be in the lead. I would say the Illini aren’t out of this one, but it will be a tough recruitment to win. Look for Oregon as a dark horse as well.