Illinois Football: Alabama defensive lineman receives Illini offer

The Illinois football team struck gold in Alabama with running back Josh McCray.

McCray has run amazingly well through four games with the Illini, and now the coaching staff is eyeing another state of Alabama recruit in Terrell Jones.

Jones is a 6-foot-5, 260-pound defensive lineman from Hoover High School and resides in Hoover, Alabama. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 175 defensive lineman in the class of 2022. He is also the No. 57 player coming out of Alabama.

This past Thursday, Illinois entered the sweepstakes for Jones. They came in with a scholarship offer and added to the other roughly 12 programs that have also offered him.

What would Jones bring to the Illinois football team?

At 6-foot-5, 260-pounds, Jones already has the monster size you want at the next level. Having someone who has the framework for being a great player is always a bonus. In college, it would be about refining Jones’ skills and honing in that aggression and size.

One of the main things that jumped out to me is how well Jones would fit in with the Illinois defensive scheme. If we are going with three down linemen most of the game, having someone like Jones at nose tackle would be huge for the program. He could clog up the running lanes and wreak havoc on the opposing offensive line.

I feel like there is a lot of rawness to Jones’ game as well. He isn’t a finely tuned player by any means, but that is not a bad thing. I look at him as more of a clean slate or a blank canvas. The Illini coaches can come in and teach the kid how they want to teach him. Jones doesn’t have any bad habits instilled in him.

I love this offer by Illinois. With a building program, having young depth that is willing to learn is important. I think that is what Jones would bring to Champaign. He has an extremely high upside.