Illinois Football: Illini back in the running for Theodore Lockley

Despite losing out on a committed player just weeks ago, it looks like the Illinois football team is back in the running again.

Back on July 27, Illinois had 2021 commit, Theodore Lockley, decide to back out of his pledge to the Illini and reopen his recruitment. This came as a surprise to many Illinois fans, but all hope isn’t lost with the talented speedster.

Nearly three weeks later, Lockley decided to publish his new top seven list on Twitter. The seven teams to make the cut include Cincinnati, Rutgers, East Carolina, Western Kentucky, Utah, Kansas and Illinois. So, it looks like we are still in the running for the kid.

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. 1427 player in the class of 2021 and the No. 103 athlete in the nation. He is also the No. 198 player in the state of Florida.

The commitment to Illinois didn’t last long. Lockley announced his commitment to the Illini back on June 19, so he was only with us for about five weeks. I would love for the kid to return to Champaign, though.

Does Illinois have a chance at snagging Lockley?

I think there is always some semblance of a chance when a recruit includes a team in his top list. Illinois made Lockley’s top seven, so we aren’t out of the running yet.

247Sports has Lockley now going to East Carolina. I would say they are probably clear leaders right now. They seem to have the momentum, but there are a handful of teams who have come in with offers since he reopened his recruitment.

This is just purely a guess, but I would say Illinois isn’t going to bring Lockley back in. It is extremely rare to see a player back away from a commitment and then commit to that same program again. But I have seen weirder things happen. Let’s just say, I would be shocked to see this kid suit up for the Orange and Blue.