Illinois Football: Illini have found a diamond in the rough for 2022
It looks like the Illinois football team found a diamond in the rough with one of their commitments for 2022.
The Illini have five commitments on the board for the 2022 class, and all of the pledges are on the offensive side of the ball. Hank Beatty is the lone wide receiver committed to Illinois. Three of the other four commitments are on the offensive line. Those three great blockers will be protecting a quarterback in Donovan Leary, who looks to be that diamond in the rough I mentioned earlier.
Leary, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound pro-style quarterback, hails from Sicklerville, New Jersey and throws darts for Timber Creek High School. As a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 807 player in the class of 2022, Leary is slotted in the national rankings as a solid quarterback who could come in and compete in a year or two with a DI program. But, over the weekend, the star recruit showed why he should be one of the top quarterbacks in the country.
Why is Illinois football commit Donovan Leary a diamond in the rough?
An Elite 11 camp took place this past weekend, and it was the Philadelphia Regional. Not all top quarterbacks participated in the camp, but the best from the area were able to attend.
Brian Dohn of 247Sports had great coverage on the camp, and he detailed who led the way in the camp and talked about most of the quarterbacks. In the article, Dohn’s “Alpha Dog” from the camp was none other than Leary.
In the write-up about Leary, Dohn has a glowing review of the Illinois commit, mainly of his accuracy.
"The Erial (N.J.) Timber Creek prospect was incredibly accurate, even when dealing with a trick wind that shifted directions during the day."
While the camp was regional, there were some great quarterbacks also participating. Leary was more impressive than Braden Davis, the No. 186 player in the class of 2022. Some of the other top quarterbacks Leary was able to outshine included; Steve Angeli (#230 committed to Notre Dame), Beau Bribula (#370 committed to Penn State), Devin Kargman (#480 uncommitted) and Jayden Sauray (#620 uncommitted).
So, the No. 807 player in the class of 2022 was able to be the most impressive quarterback in the Elite 11 camp that featured the No. 186, No. 230, No. 370, No. 480 and No. 620 players for that same class. I would assume, with this great showing, that Leary might be moving up in the recruiting rankings in the coming months.
Next. Another class of 2022 official visit added for the Illini. dark
The quarterback room for the Illini seems to be strong right now, but they are bringing in a quarterback in Leary who might be the best of the best. This kid is ranked No. 807 in the nation, but he looks to be a diamond in the rough. The future of Illinois football is extremely bright.