Illinois Football: Local product Aidan Laughery receives Illini offer
Recruiting in-state has been a challenge for the Illinois football coaching staff at times, but they have now set their eyes on a big-time local product.
On Tuesday, Aidan Laughery announced on Twitter that he had received a scholarship offer from the University of Illinois. This is a big local offer and one that could pay dividends down the road.
Laughery is a 5-foot-11, 183-pound athlete from Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (GCMS) High School and resides in Gibson City, Illinois. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 62 athlete in the class of 2022 and the No. 13 player in the state of Illinois.
Beyond thankful to have received an offer to play football for the University Of Illinois🔶🔷#Littyville @GcmsFalcon @IlliniRSmith @CoachBellamy @Jlemming18 @EDGYTIM @AllenTrieu pic.twitter.com/n9ue4V1us0
— Aidan Laughery (@AidanLaughery) July 14, 2020
In an interview with Jeremy Werner of 247Sports, Laughery talks about the offer and the meaning of Illinois wanting him to play in Champaign.
"“Coach called me and said to wake up and to call (Illinois),” Laughery said. “So I called coach Rod Smith and we had been talking every few weeks. I would give him a call and check in. He said he wanted to give me an offer to play football. It is pretty awesome just having my hometown team offer me like that, the team I have grown up around and been in that community. All I could say was thank you and how much I appreciate it.”"
Most Illinois fans might look past this offer thinking that Laughery isn’t going to be much of an impact player, but I believe this kid could come in and be a utility guy. Just this past season, Laughery rushed for 1,279 yards and 22 touchdowns. That alone is impressive no matter what class he is playing in.
Where would Laughery fit in on the Illinois roster?
Do I see Laughery coming in and playing running back? No, not at all but I do see him entering the program and being someone who can maybe get a few carries on a jet sweep or play in the slot and really impact the offense via yards after catch.
Next. 3 observations from the Illini's 2019 season. dark
Illinois first has to land the talented athlete. I think we have a good shot at accomplishing that goal. Overall, Laughery is the type of player this coaching staff loves to have. He isn’t pigeonholed into a single role. He can do everything.