Illinois Football: Tyler Strain ready to bring a little Prime Time to the Illini

The secondary has been a weakness for the Illinois football team to start the 2020 campaign.

I know the Illini have good players in the secondary, there just hasn’t been cohesiveness to the play on the field. But the Illinois coaching staff has tried to address that by snagging talented players from the class of 2021.

Tyler Strain is one of those recruits who is already committed to the Orange and Blue. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound cornerback is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 1522 player in the class of 2021.

Illinois came in with an offer to Strain back on May 4. On July 24, the Pace High School standout committed to Lovie Smith and the Fighting Illini coaching staff. Without him signing yet, the options are still technically open for Strain. But he put any doubt to bed when asked by the Writing Illini if he is fully committed to Illinois.

“Yes, sir. I really like the coaches and feel a good connection.”

With a solid commitment in hand, Illinois looks to lock up as many of their talented recruits as possible during the early signing period starting December 16. The decision for Strain on when he is signing hasn’t been made yet.

“I plan on signing either national signing day or during the early period. I haven’t decided yet.”

Strain is a multi-tool player for his Pace team. To go along with his great defensive back abilities, he also plays wide receiver and takes a couple of handoffs each game. This experience on offense has helped Strain take his game to the next level.

“I learn the route tree more, and I know what the wideout is going to do before he does it.”

Developing into a shutdown cornerback doesn’t just happen. There are influences in life that affect a player like Strain and his future. He talked to the Writing Illini about how he became such a well-rounded talent.

“My brother was always my motivation. He pushed me to be the best I can be. I put that work in and grinded and didn’t let anybody get in my way. I also looked up to Deion Sanders growing up and still do.”

Being a student to Deion “Prime Time” Sanders is something that doesn’t come as a surprise. Growing up in Fort Worth, Texas, Strain had a lot of influence from the Dallas Cowboys and, in turn, America’s Team became Strain’s team.

Strain remains fully committed to the Illinois football program, and this is great news for fans of the Illini. With Strain studying Deion Sanders, maybe he will bring a little bit of Prime Time to Champaign.