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Illinois Football: 2021 athlete Theodore Lockley commits to Illini

By Jalen Wilson

CHAMPAIGN, IL - SEPTEMBER 29: An Illinois Fighting Illini flag is seen in the tailgating lot before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on September 29, 2017 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - SEPTEMBER 29: An Illinois Fighting Illini flag is seen in the tailgating lot before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on September 29, 2017 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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The Illinois football team landed their ninth recruit in the class of 2021 on Friday afternoon.

Theodore Lockley has announced via his Instagram account that he is committing to the University of Illinois. This was a huge get for the Orange and Blue and the second commit in the past week.

Lockley is a 6-foot, 175-pound athlete out of Mainland High School and resides in Daytona Beach, Florida. 247Sports has Lockley rated as a three-star recruit and the No. 1,508 player in the class of 2021. He is also ranked as the No.106 athlete in the nation and the No. 220 player the state of Florida.

Multiple programs were vying for Lockley’s commitment. Some of those programs included Boston College, Bowling Green, and East Carolina. But the talented athlete decided to pick the Illini as the landing spot.

I don’t think there has been a clear indication on what position he will play at Illinois, but if I had to take guess it would wide receiver. Based on his junior season tape, Lockely possesses good hands and the ability to get behind opposing teams secondary.

There are multiple reasons why this commitment was huge. One of those reasons is that it continues the Illini’s pipeline to Florida.

Illinois has been able to pull in a number of players from the Sunshine State including Seth Coleman, Devon Witherspoon, Blaise Sparks, Tre’von Riggins, Deuce Spann, Johnny Newton and Quinton McCoy. Those players are just from the last two classes too. I could also add in the incoming transfer of Brian Hightower, who played for Miami (FL) and is a four-star wide receiver.

Lockley would add depth at the wide receiver position as well. Illinois is losing a ton of talent with all three starting wide receivers departing after this season. The backups this year will turn into starters. That means we will need players to replace the backups. Lockley would fit in perfectly.

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I think this was a good commitment for the Illinois football team. Lockley possesses a lot of talent and will be fun to watch on Saturdays.

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