ST. LOUIS- While the class of 2022 is still not done committing to their college destinations, we’re learning a little bit more about the status of one of the top players in the class of 2023, and the consensus top football player in the state of Illinois.
East St. Louis four-star offensive lineman Miles McVay, who already has two dozen offers, including Missouri, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, and LSU, announced last week that he’d been offered by the University of Illinois.
While it is not surprising that the flagship school in the state of Illinois would offer the state’s top-ranked prospect, the move is significant. When Bret Bielema was hired as the new Illini Head Coach, he also hired former Illinois DB Terry Hawthorne to an off-field position. Hawthorne was an East St. Louis assistant at the time he was hired, and according to NCAA bylaws, Illinois had to agree not to recruit players from the school.
Without commenting on a non-committed player, a spokesman for the University of Illinois Athletic Department confirmed that the clock for the NCAA rule will expire by the time the class of 2023 signs.
McVay told FOX2 last week he could wait until the Under Armour All-American game next January to make his college pick public. Under current NCAA rules, that means he would have to wait until February 2023 to sign a binding letter of intent.
