Illinois Football: 2021’s Pat Bryant commits to Illini over West Virginia

The Illinois football team landed a top priority commit Sunday, beating out West Virginia.

Pat Bryant has made it official. The 6-foot-3, 187-pound wideout from Jacksonville, Florida took to Twitter on Sunday to announce that in 2021, Champaign is home. This is a major get for Illinois, as they look to firmly establish Florida as a recruiting hotbed for years to come.

Bryant plays for Atlantic Coast High School and is currently a three-star recruit while sporting the No. 141 wide receiver ranking in the country and No. 145  best player ranking in all of Florida. In addition, Bryant is the No. 1063 best player in the class of 2021.

With Bryant’s addition to the Illini, the current roster is looking really promising. By the time Bryant arrives on campus, household names like Ricky Smalling, Josh Imatorbhebhe, and Trevon Sidney will have left, which leaves a much-needed hole to fill on offense. All of them are efficient receivers who were key in various wins last fall, and 2020 should be no different.

Bryant will join Brian Hightower, a recent transfer, which could make for a rather dangerous combination for years to come. However, it is crucial that Hightower and Bryant remain healthy since Illinois has some inexperienced receivers who will hopefully showcase themselves in the following years.

The Tale of the Tape

On film, Bryant is explosive. He brings the ball in nicely and has elusive speed. He reminds me a lot of Ricky Smalling because of his acrobatic catches and great route-running ability. His one-handed catches are breathtaking, and he delivers in the clutch time after time. Various touchdown clips were featured, which makes him a huge red zone threat and a potential No. 1 or 2 receiver for the Illini.

Illinois has been hard at work during such a unique recruiting period, which should make fans excited for the present and future of the program.