Illinois Football: Illini in Theodore Lockley’s top 4, decision date announced

The momentum is building for the Illinois football class of 2021.

There are so many recruits who have the Illini on their radar. The building of talent now will only benefit the program down the road, especially considering the number of players who are graduating after this season. So, Illinois needs to make sure depth is on point. Theodore Lockley would be a great depth addition.

Lockley is a 6-foot, 175-pound athlete from Mainland High School and resides in Daytona Beach, Florida. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 1474 player in the class of 2021 and the No. 103 athlete in the nation. He is also the No. 213 player in the state of Florida.

There are a number of teams vying for Lockley’s commitment, but on Monday, he decided to narrow his list down to just four teams. The four programs that made the cut include Bowling Green, East Carolina, Boston College and Illinois.

Lockley wasn’t finished announce his recruiting plans, though. On Tuesday, he followed his list cut up with news about when he will be making a commitment. He says via a tweet that his commitment will come on Friday, June 19 via his Instagram page at 12:00 PM ET.

All of this is big news for the Orange and Blue. Being in the mix for another solid player is always a good thing for the program. Adding someone like Lockley would help depth at wide receiver tremendously.

It is well-documented that Illinois is going to be losing a lot of pass-catching talent after the 2020 campaign. We have a few proven wide receivers who can step up into starting roles, but there isn’t a ton of depth at the position. Having Lockley come in and, most likely, redshirt year one should be the plan. He would then be unleashed in 2022 as an impact player for this program.

I love that we are close to landing a player like Lockley. Building up the playmakers on this team will only improve our chances of winning in the future.