Illinois Football: Alabama DB receiving interest from the Illini

With the class of 2022 not anywhere near closed up, the Illinois football team is looking to add more defensive back help.

Sitting with the No. 36 class for 2022 and the No. 9 ranked class in the Big Ten, the Illini are needing to add roughly 10 more players to the talented group coming in. A theme building right now for 2022 is offense. Bret Bielema has recruited quite the haul on the offensive side of the ball. But adding a player like Rodney Johnson would help stabilize the defense, specifically in the secondary.

Johnson is a 5-foot-11, 160-pound cornerback from Gadsden City High School and resides in Gadsden, Alabama. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 1101 player in the class of 2022. He is also the No. 102 cornerback in the nation and the No. 46 player coming out of the state of Alabama.

This past Saturday, Illinois got in the mix for Johnson. They offered a scholarship to the talented defensive back in hopes of landing his commitment sometime down the road. But the Illini were not the first team to eye the southern product. Johnson already has roughly 26 scholarship offers with some of the bigger programs being South Carolina, Penn State and Louisville.

Illinois football needs to build depth with players like Johnson.

Entering the 2021 campaign, Illinois has some solid experience with players like Tony Adams and Sydney Brown returning. But one thing in particular that has killed the Illini in the past is depth at defensive back.

Illinois has five defensive backs departing the program after this season, and most of those seniors are big contributors. Behind them, there isn’t a ton of certainty with the secondary.

I do like Brown coming back in 2022 as a safety. He should help in the middle of the defensive backfield. Eddie Smith and Derrick Smith will also be coming back in 2022. But beyond them, I don’t have a ton of confidence in what is on the field just yet.

Illinois currently has seven freshmen or redshirt freshmen on the roster entering the 2021 campaign. Having all of those talented young players develop is going to be crucial for the future. I still would like more talent in the secondary, though. More bodies usually mean a better chance of having a talented defensive backfield.

That is why I like the offer to a player like Johnson. He is a dog on the outside with tremendous speed and great coverage skills. His ability to close in on a pass that is coming toward a wide receiver is phenomenal. I also like the fact Illinois could use Johnson as a defensive back and on special teams. He could be like our Devin Hester.

This is a great offer by Illinois. Let’s go into Alabama and snag one of their underrated recruits. The class of 2022 could end up being pretty special for the Orange and Blue.