Illinois Football: Another class of 2022 official visit added for the Illini

Illinois football has a chance to do something special in Bret Bielema’s first recruiting class as head coach.

The Illini class of 2021, while solid, isn’t Bielema’s first full class. He did bring in a few of the players and was able to convince the rest to stay despite the recruits losing the head coach they originally committed to, but I am not counting this class as his class.

Bielema’s first true class is going to be the class of 2022. This is where he can bring in the guys he wants to bring in. And, so far, the 2022 class has started off well. Illinois has five commitments and is ranked as the No. 37 class in the nation. There are plenty of more opportunities to come with this class as well. Just look at the official visit list coming up. And, on Saturday, the Illini added to that list when Charles “Chas” Nimrod announced he was taking an official visit to Champaign.

Nimrod is a 6-foot-3, 180-pound wide receiver from Bentonville High School and resides in Bentonville, Arkansas. He isn’t rated or ranked by 247Sports, but there are enough scholarships on the board to tell me this kid is somewhere between 1,000-1,500 in national recruiting ranking.

Can the Illinois football team win out for Nimrod?

I think it is definitely possible for the Illini to secure a commitment from Nimrod. We are the only team to get an official visit as of right now, so that means we are top of mind for him.

Nimrod has an impressive list of offers as well. In addition to Illinois, teams like Kansas State, Kansas and Arkansas have all offered him a scholarship. For Illinois to get the first visit with those offers on the table, that has to mean we are one of the top options.

I also look at where Nimrod is from. He is an Arkansas kid, and that is the same state where Bielema coached for nearly a half-decade. He has ties to the area and with the high school head coaches. Those ties could pay off in the form of a commitment from Nimrod. That connection might end up being a factor in this recruitment.

Overall, I am excited to see another official visit on the list. Illinois needs to build the class of 2022 into a deep group of players. This will be a foundation class for years to come.