Illinois Football: St. Louis wide receiver receives Illini offer

The majority of the Illinois football coaching staff is new, but that doesn’t stop them from still recruiting the St. Louis area.

The previous regime for the Illini did well recruiting St. Louis. This is one of the few things they did well in the recruiting game. Thankfully, we still have ties to the area, so this could pay off down the road. One of the latest offers from Illinois went to St. Louis native, Ryan Wingo.

Wingo is a 6-foot-2, 198-pound wide receiver from St. Louis University High School and resides in St. Louis, Missouri. He isn’t rated or ranked just yet because he is from the class of 2024, and 247Sports hasn’t released those rankings. But, let’s be honest, this kid is going to be one of the top recruits in the country.

For a kid who is only entering his sophomore year in high school, Wingo already has roughly six scholarship offers. Including the Illini, some of the bigger programs to offer Wingo include the likes of Arkansas, Ole Miss and Iowa State. He is going to have everyone in the country after him in the next year or so.

What would Wingo bring to the Illinois football program?

I want to point out Wingo’s size. He is about to be a sophomore, and he already stands at 6-foot-2, 198-pounds. I imagine he might grow an inch or two by his senior year. He is, literally, going to be a huge target for whatever programs brings him in.

Speed is the next thing that really stands out about Wingo. He can fly around the field and beat a defender with ease. If he has tremendous speed already, then he will only continue to hone his great speed throughout the next three years.

I also love Wingo’s great hands. He can go up and get the ball at the highest point, or he can go down and get the ball in the dirt. Wingo reminds me of a player like DK Metcalf. That is the type of player I could see him developing into in the future.

Illinois getting in early on Wingo is smart. It looks like Cory Patterson is the lead recruiter. Hopefully, we can make some inroads and build a solid relationship. I believe Wingo is going to end up being a top 200 recruit for 2024.