Advertisement

Fourth-and-blog

Sam, I am ... not

Challenger takes a big early lead

Read more…

Recent "Fourth-and-blog" entries

Challenge accepted

Mr. Woods: How dumb do you think we are?

Illinois football recruiting: A midseason checkup (defense)

This week, HQ recruiting expert Jeremy Werner analyzed where Illinois stood with the prep football stars still looking for a school.

Signing day is still three months away, but it's never too early to start worrying.

Wednesday: A look at the Illini's prospects on offense. Click here for the story.

Thursday: A look at the defensive situation. Here is Werner's report:

f you feel like it's been a long time since Illinois football has received a commitment, you're right. Vermont (Ill.) South Fulton offensive tackle Michael Heitz was the last high sc­hool senior to verbally commit to the Illini - more than three months ago.

Illinois has been through Camp Rantoul and six losses since then. So where do the Illini stand with top prospects in the competitive world of recruiting? Yesterday, we looked at possible recruiting targets on offense. Today, we focus on the Illini's defensive targets.

Defensive end: Illinois has a lot of young bodies at defensive end, but ranks last in the Big Ten with 11 sacks through 8 games. The Illini really need to add a difference-maker at defensive end and could sell playing time to an incoming recruit. At the top of their wish list is 6-foot-5, 230-pound Hialeah (Fla.) standout COREY LEMONIER, ranked the 79^th overall prospect in the nation by Rivals.com. But the Illini will have to battle LSU, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, Miami (Fla.) and several other BCS programs for his services. New Madrid (Mo.) standout KONY EALY recently committed to Missouri. The Illini definitely have some ground to make up here, but could make a big splash with Lemonier. One other target left is Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) prospect MAX BEAULIEU.

Defensive tackle: If you had to say Illinois has a strength on defense, you might say defensive tackle is their best spot. With sophomore COREY LIUGET and junior JOSH BRENT in the fold for at least one more season, the Illini have one of the best starting duos in the Big Ten. Freshmen LENDELL BUCKNER, TIM KYNARD and AKEEM SPENCE will also provide depth in the rotation. But Illinois could use one prospect from this class and are prioritizing Lemonier's teammate CALVIN SMITH, who likes the Illini but also has many SEC offers.

Linebacker: Tallahassee (Fla.) Lincoln senior MARK WILSON told IlliniHQ this week that he is firm with his verbal commitment (read more about Wilson in tomorrow's blog). He could be on the field sooner than expected given Illinois' struggles at the position this season. The Illini seem to be undersized at linebacker with Martez Wilson out with injury, so a guy like Shiloh (Ark.) Christian's MITCHELL ROBERTS, who has offers from Illinois and Tulsa, might provide some girth in the middle (read more about Roberts here). Other targets include JONATHAN BROWN of Memphis (Tenn.) Christian Brothers (read more about him here) and JEREMIAH ATTAOCHU of Washington D.C. Archbishop Carroll.

Defensive back: Illinois already has three commitments from defensive backs: safeties COREY COOPER (Proviso East) and Daniel Easterly (Detroit Cass Tech) and cornerback DEXTER McDONALD (Kansas City Rockhurst). But Cooper is considered a "soft" verbal at this point, has taken a visit to Notre Dame and is planning official visits to Arizona, Nebraska and Tennessee, as well as Illinois. Though, Cooper's high school coach told IlliniHQ's Bob Asmussen that he is firm with his decision. Easterly is also taking official visits. So it's no surprise that Illinois continues to recruit other defensive backs, including Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian's RASHAD KNIGHT and Statesville (N.C.) West Iredell's PJ CLYBURN. Playmakers in the secondary should be high on the list with Illini ranking last in the Big Ten with three interceptions through eight games.

Overall: Like on the actual football field, Illinois has a lot of work left to do on the defensive side of the ball in recruiting. The Illini have just one commitment from a front-seven player (LB Mark Wilson). Illinois needs a few defensive linemen and at least one more linebacker. The defensive backfield will receive a boost if Illinois can hold onto its verbal commitments. The dominoes could fall quickly after the high school football season ends. A packaged deal of the Hialeah defensive linemen would do wonders for the Illini's Class of 2010. But if they miss on those prioritized targets and fail to keep Easterly and Cooper, they could be moving to Plan C very quickly.

Comments

Add a Comment