Illinois Football: Three sport Florida athlete keeps Illini in top 6

Coming off a big commitment, the Illinois football program is now in the top six for another class of 2024 recruit.

On Saturday, the Illini received their biggest commitment yet for 2024, as running back Ca’Lil Valentine picked the Orange and Blue over other teams like Utah and Oregon. Valentine, a four-star recruit who is ranked inside the top 400, puts Illinois at 17 commitments and a national ranking of No. 37 for the class of 2024.

Bret Bielema and the Illini coaching staff are nowhere near finished with the 2024 group, though. The good news didn’t stop flowing on Saturday either.

On Saturday, it was announced via multiple outlets that Deylen Platt has cut his top list down to six programs, which included Ole Miss, South Florida, Louisville, Wisconsin, Oregon State, and Illinois.

Illinois football is going after a superstar athlete in Florida native, Deylen Platt

Platt is a 6-foot-3, 175-pound cornerback from Venice High School in Florida. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 1086 player in the class of 2024. He is also the No. 99 cornerback in the country and the No. 144 player coming out of Florida.

Even though Platt is down to six teams, he has already taken official visits to both Illinois and Ole Miss. With three official visits remaining, there is no exact time set for a commitment.

Opinion

Illinois just put a handful of defensive backs into the NFL, one of which was Devon Witherspoon, who went No. 5 overall to the Seattle Seahawks. Bielema’s coaching staff loves big defensive backs, and Platt fits that mold.

At 6-foot-3, Platt is going to be a nightmare for opposing offenses. He isn’t just a big defensive back, though. Platt is also a great athlete. He runs track for Venice and competes in the 100, 200, 400, and high jump for the high school.

Seeing Platt outside the top 1000 has me confused. I assume that he isn’t fine-tuned in football because he does play three sports at Venice. Just think about how good he is going to be when football is his sole focus.