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Illinois Football: Illini land Crystal Ball Prediction for Florida safety

By Rees Woodcock

Oct 2, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini players cheer on their teammates against the Charlotte 49ers in the second half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 2, 2021; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini players cheer on their teammates against the Charlotte 49ers in the second half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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It was a rough loss on Saturday against Rutgers, but the Illinois football team still might be coming away with a small victory from the weekend.

Despite the loss to the Scarlet Knights, the Illini had an important player on campus for an official visit. Defensive back Elijah Davis took one of his five official visits to Champaign yesterday, and it looks like he enjoyed his trip.

On Saturday, Illinois seemed to move one step closer to landing the talented safety. Jeremy Werner of 247Sports put in a Crystal Ball Prediction for Davis. Werner has the Auburndale native heading to the Illini with a confidence of seven out of 10.

This is pretty big news considering the talent Davis would bring to the Orange and Blue. He is a 6-foot-1, 165-pound safety from Auburndale High School and resides in Auburndale, Florida. He is rated as a

three-star recruit

and ranked as the No. 978 player in the class of 2022. Davis is also the No. 74 safety in the country and the No. 125 player coming out of Florida.

Davis would help a weak spot in the Illinois football defense.

Defensive coordinator Ryan Walters has the Illini defense playing well right now. We are giving up fewer than 24 points per game, and Illinois is competitive because of the defense.

But there are some weaknesses in the Illini defense. One of those weaknesses is the secondary, particularly at safety. This is where Davis would come in.

Illinois currently has a couple of okay pieces at safety. The top safety is probably Sydney Brown. But he is going to depart after the 2022 campaign. Illinois will also need some depth behind Brown next season.

I could see Davis coming into the Illinois football program and being the primary backup to Brown in year one. It wouldn’t shock me to see Davis get a lot of snaps as a freshman as well.

If you are seeing what Walters is doing with a defense that is thin and void of a ton of talent, then can you imagine what he can do with a full roster and solid depth? Davis would be a great piece to add to the Walters defense.

Next. 4 observations from the Illini loss to Rutgers. dark

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