Illinois Football: Confidence rating for Illini recruiting targets in the class of 2023

3 of 5

CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS – NOVEMBER 02: The Illinois Fighting Illini helmet on the field in the game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Memorial Stadium on November 02, 2019 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

3. Saboor Karriem – 8 out of 10

The recruitment of Saboor Karriem has quieted as of late, but the Illinois football program might be one of the top schools that could land the talented defensive back.

Karriem is a 6-foot-3, 180-pound cornerback from West Orange High School and resides in West Orange, New Jersey. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 893 player in the class of 2023. He is also the No. 14 player coming out of the state of New Jersey.

The national recruiting sites pretty much have Karriem’s decision coming down to Duke and Illinois. The Illini had an official visit from Karriem back on June 3 while Duke received their official visit a few weeks later on June 24.

Something to note is that the Rivals FutureCast has Karriem landing with the Illini at 100%. The vibes I am getting from everything I am reading and seeing is that it is a race between Illinois and Duke. I would probably give the Illini the edge at this point.

Defensive back help is going to be needed greatly in the next season or so for the Illinois football program as well. Players like Sydney Brown and Quan Martin won’t be here in 2023, so there will be a huge gap in the Illinois secondary. Adding someone like Karriem would be big for the program.

I have confidence Illinois can pull in Karriem. If he was making a commitment today, I would guess Karriem would end up with the Orange and Blue.

Home/Illinois Football Recruiting