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Illinois football recruiting target changes official visit plans

Bret Bielema wants to continue building the class of 2027, and one recruiting target has their eyes on the Illinois football program.
ByRees Woodcock|
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Oct 1, 2022; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini helmet during warmups prior to the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
Oct 1, 2022; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini helmet during warmups prior to the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Illinois football team is in the middle of a big month of recruiting, and a target has just adjusted his schedule.

Bret Bielema and the Illini are coming off a weekend that saw a commitment from Iowa tight end Cade Newman. That recruiting momentum has carried over into the new week, and now the Orange and Blue find themselves in the driver’s seat for another potential commitment.

On Sunday, Tyrone Howard Jr. took to social media to announce that June 23 is going to be his commitment. He also had USF, FAU, UConn, Wake Forest, North Dakota State, and Illinois as his options.

That announcement rolled over into Monday, when Howard announced that Wake Forest will not be getting an official visit. Instead, he is moving the Illinois official visit up to this weekend, starting on June 12.

This is pretty big news for Howard’s recruitment, considering he has only taken one official visit, and that was to USF this past weekend. Illinois seems to be gaining a ton of momentum, and now we have booted the Demon Deacons out of the way and are getting their official visit date.

If Illinois were to land Howard, this would be a diamond-in-the-rough type of get. Howard isn’t rated or ranked by the recruiting sites, but the 6-foot-2, 170-pound safety has nice size, and he has quality scholarship offers. He would be a great development piece for the Illini.

Under Bret Bielema, the Illinois football team has consistently produced quality safeties

I would welcome Illinois landing someone like Howard. He isn’t going to move the needle on paper, but he is someone I could see years from now being a draft pick who can tout he had zero stars but is now in an NFL secondary.

Illinois has done a great job developing those types of players. Devon Witherspoon is the prime example. He wasn’t rated or ranked but ended up being the No. 5 pick in the NFL Draft. He was also from Florida, like Howard.

When it comes to the safety position, Illinois has been putting quality talent into the NFL, too.

Just in the Bielema era, the NFL has drafted Sydney Brown, Kerby Joseph, Quan Martin, and Miles Scott. All played or will be playing safety.

Howard could be the next in line. He seems to be leaning toward the Illini, and adding this depth piece will be fun for the future.

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