Illinois Football: Illini targeting St. Louis with recent scholarship offer

St. Louis should still be a priority for the new Illinois football coaching staff.

The Illini have been able to pull some solid talent out of the St. Louis area in recent years. Isaiah Williams is one of the best athletes on the team. Shammond Cooper is going to be a dominating linebacker for the program. There are a handful of other players from in and around St. Louis who will help this program as well.

With that being said, recruiting the St. Louis area is extremely important for the future of Illinois football. That is why I like the recent scholarship offer to Tyler Gant.

Gant is a 6-foot-3, 262-pound defensive lineman from Christian Brothers College High School and resides in St. Louis, Missouri. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 50 defensive lineman in the class of 2023. He is also the No. 10 player coming out of the state of Missouri.

Illinois is by no means the first scholarship offer Gant has received. He has roughly 10 offers on the table right now with some of the bigger programs being Arkansas, Iowa, and Iowa State. This will be a tough recruitment for the Illini to win.

Gant would bring tremendous size and speed to the Illinois football defensive line.

With the Illini going to a 3-4 defense in 2021, they will be looking for quality size up front. This size can’t be stagnant, though, as they will need to move well and be able to fend off the interior offensive line.

Gant is a player the Illini coaching staff would love on the defensive line. While he has great size at 6-foot-3, 262-pounds, that isn’t the most impressive thing about his game.

I love Gant’s first step off of the defensive line. He can quickly get off the ball, which enables him to hit the gap where the running back is going. This also helps with the pass rush. Illinois will need a solid nose tackle in the near future, and Gant could be the man for the job.

The great speed Gant brings to the game sets him apart from a lot of defensive linemen. Whoever ends up landing him will be getting a special player. I love this kid’s game.