Illinois Football: Florida athlete sets Illini official visit

The month of June is quickly approaching, and that means there are numerous official visits on the horizon.

As of right now, the Illini have three players committed for 2023 with the most recent pledge coming from TJ McMillen less than a week ago. Illinois also sits with the No. 48 ranked class in the country. This is a great start, but there are quite a few recruits looking for a home.

In the month of June alone, the Illini have 19 players coming in for an official visit. One of the most recent recruits to announce he was visiting Champaign was Jason Duclona.

On Tuesday, Duclona took to Twitter to announce that he would be taking his second official visit to Illinois on the weekend of June 17. This is a big visit for the Orange and Blue not only because there are a total of eight recruits visiting that weekend, but because Duclona is the highest rated among them all.

Duclona is a 6-foot-1, 175-pound athlete from Estero High School and resides in Estero, Florida. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 695 player in the class of 2023. Duclona is also the No. 60 athlete in the nation and the No. 106 player coming out of Florida.

Versatility is what Jason Duclona would bring to the Illinois football program.

When I watch what Duclona can do on the football field, one word comes to mind. Playmaker.

Duclona is a playmaker in the truest form. He isn’t just extremely skilled in one area of the field. He has the ability to play any defensive back position, and he can flip over and be dominant at wide receiver.

I love Duclona’s field vision. This seems to be what sets him apart and makes him a top 1000 recruit for 2023. He can see the field well on both sides of the ball, and this enables him to make the correct play whether that be jumping a route or beating a man in the open space.

The weekend of June 17 will be big for the Illini, but we are going to have to compete with some other programs for Duclona’s commitment. His first official visit will come a week earlier when he travels to Rutgers to see what the Scarlet Knights are all about.

Let’s continue racking up official visits. The more lines we have in the water, the more fish we can catch. Duclona is one of those big fish.