Illinois football Signing Day 2017

By The Daily Illini sports staff

Wednesday is college football’s National Signing Day, when Illinois head coach Lovie Smith and his staff see if all of their work on the recruiting trail has paid off. Check back here throughout the day for updates and bios when prospective student-athletes send in their National Letters of Intent. All rankings are according to 247sports.com.

Follow sports editor Charlotte Carroll (@charlottecrrll), football writer Stephen Cohn (@stephencohn14) or Daily Illini Sports (@di_sports) on Twitter for more breaking news and analysis.

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Updated 1:06 p.m.

3-star strong-side defensive end Bobby Roundtree of Largo High School has signed his letter of intent to play at Illinois. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Largo, Florida, native’s commitment came late — on National Signing Day. He recently visited Indiana, but chose Illinois. He’s ranked No. 63 at his position nationally and 186th in Florida.

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Updated 10:53 a.m.

Cornerback Bennett Williams of St. Francis Central Coast Catholic has signed his letter of intent to play at Illinois. The 5-foot-11,192-pound Watsonville, California, native committed late on Jan. 31, just one day before National Signing Day. Williams received offers from Air Force, Cornell and Hawaii among others.


Updated 8:33 a.m.

3-star outside linebacker Marc Mondesir of St. Rita High School has signed his letter of intent to play at Illinois. The Chicago native had offers from Illinois State, Northern Illinois and Wyoming but chose Illinois in June. The 6-foot-2 Mondesir is the No. 45 player in Illinois and ranks 97th in his position nationwide.


Updated 8:30 a.m.

3-star wide receiver Tony Adams has signed his letter of intent to play football at Illinois. The Saint Louis native came down to Mizzou and Illinois but in the end the Illini came out on top. He will join a strong incoming receiving corps.

That includes names such as Ricky Smalling and Carmoni Green.


Updated 8:26 a.m.

3-star offensive tackle Vederian Lowe of Auburn High School has signed his letter of intent to play at Illinois. The 6-foot-4, 336-pound Rockford native committed to the Illini in June after Wisconsin and Minnesota showed interest. Lowe is the No. 29 player in Illinois and ranks 109th for his position nationwide.

3-star wide receiver Ricky Smalling of Brother Rice has signed his letter of intent to play at Illinois. The 6-foot, 195-pound Oak Lawn, Illinois, native is the No. 6 player in the state of Illinois.

Smalling gave a verbal commitment to the Illini last April after receiving six other offers.


Updated 8:15 a.m.

3-star strong-side defensive end Jamal Woods of Hueytown High School has signed his letter of intent to play at Illinois. The 6-foot-3, 240 pound Hueytown, Alabama, native came as a surprise to Illini fans, as he was previously committed to Memphis. He ranks No. 68 overall in Alabama and 95th nationally at his position.


Updated 7:57 a.m

3-star defensive tackle and offensive guard Kendrick Green of Peoria, Illinois, has signed his letter of intent to play at Illinois. The 6-foot-4, 270-pound Green is the No. 8 player in Illinois and ranks No. 31 as a defensive tackle nationwide. Green received 20 other offers, but committed to the Illini in December.

3-star strong-side defensive end Olalere Oladipo of Huntley High School has signed his letter of intent to play at Illinois. The 6-foot-3, 238-pound Illinois native committed to Illinois in August after receiving 18 other offers. Oladipo is the No. 14 player in Illinois and ranks 37th in his position nationwide.


Updated 7:49 a.m.

3-star strong-side defensive end Deon Pate of Trinity Christian Academy has signed his letter of intent to play at Illinois. The 6-foot-3, 246-pound Jacksonville, Florida, native committed late on Jan. 30, just two days before National Signing Day. He’s ranked No. 56 at his position. Pate also received an offer from Big Ten competition Rutgers among others.


Updated 7:41 a.m.

3-star tight end Louis Dorsey of Jean Ribault has signed his letter of intent to play football at Illinois. The 6-foot-6 tight end from Jacksonville, Florida, chose the Illini over programs such as Florida State, Miami (Florida), LSU and more. He is the 47th ranked tight end in the country.


Updated 7:34 a.m.

2-star safety James Knight of East St. Louis, Illinois, has signed his letter of intent to play at Illinois. Western Michigan and Illinois gave an offer to the 6-foot, 210-pound Knight, and he chose Illinois in January. Knight is the No. 58 player in Illinois and ranks 170th for his position nationwide. He played at East St. Louis. 


Updated 7:31 a.m.

3-star quarterback Cameron Thomas of Marian Catholic High School has signed his letter of intent to play at Illinois. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Chicago Heights native committed in May to play with the Illini. The pro-style quarterback is the No. 30 player in Illinois and ranks 44th for his position in the country.


Updated 7:20 a.m.

3-star offensive guard Larry Boyd of Trinity Catholic High School has signed his letter of intent to play at Illinois. The 6-foot-5, 310-pound Saint Louis native received 13 other offers, but committed to Illinois in August. Boyd ranks No. 25 in the nation at his position and the No. 5 best recruit in the state of Missouri.


Updated 7:18 a.m.

3-star wide receiver Kendall Smith of Bolingbrook High School has signed his letter of intent to play football at Illinois. The 6-foot-2 pass catcher out of Bolingbrook, Illinois, chose the Illini over schools such as Central Michigan, Miami (Ohio) and more.


Updated 7:14 a.m.

3-star offensive tackle Alex Palczewski of Prospect High School of Mount Prospect, Illinois has signed his letter of intent to play at Illinois. The 6-foot-6, 260-pound Mount Prospect native committed to Illinois in January over Vanderbilt and Syracuse. Palczewski is the No. 38 player in Illinois and ranks 120th for his position nationwide.


Updated 6:51 a.m.

3-star cornerback Nate Hobbs of Louisville, Kentucky, has signed his letter of intent to play at Illinois. The 6-foot, 170-pound Hobbs received eight other offers but chose Illinois in December after decommitting from Western Kentucky in November. Hobbs is the No. 15 player in Kentucky and ranks 210th in his position nationwide.


Updated 6:45 a.m.

3-star running back Ra’Von Bonner of Sycamore High School has signed his letter of intent to play at Illinois. The 6-foot, 210-pound Cincinnati native received 11 other offers before committing to the Illini in September. Bonner is the No. 50 player in Ohio and ranks 70th for his position nationwide.


Updated 6:26 a.m.

3-star Dawson DeGroot of Fort Myers has signed his letter of intent to play at Illinois. DeGroot is listed at the athlete position. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Fort Myers, Florida, native committed late on Jan. 31, just one day before National Signing Day. He ranked No. 106 at his position nationally. He received offers from Boston College, Northern Illinois, Louisiana Tech and Cincinnati among others.


Updated 6:23 a.m.

3-star running back Mike Epstein has signed his letter of intent to play football at Illinois. The 6-foot back out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, chose the Illini over programs such as Michigan, West Virginia and Louisville. In high school he played with former Ohio State — and current San Diego Chargers — player Joey Bosa, as well as his brother Nick Bosa who is a current freshman for the Buckeyes.

https://twitter.com/Dat26Kid/status/826767772797526017

 


Updated 5:36 a.m.

3-star offensive guard Hojo Watkins Jr. of Colerian High School enrolled at Illinois for the spring semester. The 6-foot-5, 280-pound Watkins is from Cincinnati. He ranks as Ohio’s 42nd best overall and comes in at No. 48 at his position nationally. Watkins received offers from Harvard, Columbia, Indiana and Illinois State among others.

Junior college transfer Del’Shawn Phillips enrolled at Illinois for the spring semester. The Garden City Community College transfer will have two years of eligibility remaining after leading Garden City to a junior college national title in 2016 and finishing the season with 95 tackles and 12.5 TFLs. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound Detroit native committed in December after receiving offers from Arizona and Louisiana Tech. Phillips ranks No. 3 at his position in the nation.

3-star defensive end Owen Carney Jr. of Miami Central High School enrolled at Illinois for the spring semester.The 6-foot-3, 232-pound Carney committed to the Illini on Christmas after receiving 25 other offers. Carney ranks No. 31 in the nation at his position and is the No. 68 best recruit in Florida.

3-star wide receiver Carmoni Green of Miami Central High School enrolled at Illinois for the spring semester. The 6-foot-1, 192-pound Green received 12 other offers, but committed to the Illini in August. The Miami native is the No. 69 player in Florida and ranks 74th in his position nationwide.

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