Illinois Football: Cameron Ball keeps Illini on top five list
The Illinois football team is now one step closer to landing a big defensive lineman for the class of 2021.
Illinois lost a ton of talent at defensive tackle after the 2019 campaign. Thankfully, over the next couple of years, we will have some solid experience in the middle. But by 2022, the Illini will need someone to step up and start at defensive tackle. That someone could be Cameron Ball.
Ball is a 6-foot-5, 300-pound defensive tackle from Tri-Cities High School and resides in Atlanta, Georgia. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 597 player in the class of 2021 and the No. 46 offensive tackle in the nation. He is also the No. 50 player in the state of Georgia.
No particular order! I will be committing on my pops birthday September 22nd! pic.twitter.com/r6oK1HlQk1
— Cameron Ball (@CamBam54) August 21, 2020
On Friday afternoon, Ball decided to cut his list one more time. He had a top 10 list before the cut on Friday, but he now only has five teams vying for his commitment, which includes Arkansas, Tennessee, Arizona State, Georgia Tech and Illinois.
I want players like Ball on the Illini. He clearly can play multiple positions as 247Sports has him listed as a defensive tackle but ranks him among the offensive linemen in the class of 2021. That makes me think Illinois could use him kind of like Kendrick Green. Green came in as a top defensive tackle but is now one of the best offensive linemen in the Big Ten.
Does Illinois have a shot at landing Ball?
I think this will be an extremely tough get for the Orange and Blue. A prediction back in May has Georgia Tech at a 10 out of 10 on the confidence meter according to 247Sports. This would make sense considering Ball is from Georgia.
But Illinois made Ball’s top 10 and now his top five. That is impressive. That means there is clearly something with the Illini that he likes. This would make me think we still have a shot at landing him, albeit a small one.
Next. Next 5 recruits the Illini need to land for 2021. dark
Ball is making his final decision on September 22. No matter the outcome of this commitment, one of the five programs will be getting a solid player. Hopefully, Ball ends up picking the Illini.