Illinois Football Flips Wisconsin Commit!

Illinois Football Flips Wisconsin Commit!

Illinois Football continues its hot start to the summer. After successfully locking down a priority tight-end, Illinois Football has successfully flipped a priority target from a Big Ten School. Vernon Woodward is a  6-foot-2, 180-pound defensive back from Florida who holds a number of power-five offers from Ole Miss, Purdue, Maryland and Missouri. Woodward visited the Illini almost two weeks ago, despite announcing a commitment to Wisconsin. He gives Illinois a much needed burst of talent in the defensive back room that is currently under construction.

This also marks the first recruitment win for newly hired defensive back coach, Antonio Fenelus. Fenelus lead the charge for the Florida native, and flipping him from Wisconsin is quite the achievement.

Respect it I’m home🔹🔸 @coachyoyo_ @BretBielema @IlliniFootball @ChadSimmons_ @Andrew_Ivins pic.twitter.com/6FFuebppO5

— Vernon Woodward lll ⭐️ (@_vern1) June 21, 2023

A Florida DB pipeline.

There is no secret that Illinois has gotten their defensive backs to the NFL in recent years. However, a majority of those, are defensive backs from the state of Florida. That sell has to resonate with a player like Woodward. Woodward marks the first defensive back commit in this class of 2024, and he is quite the win.

As most Florida DB’s do, Vernon has great length and physicality. That seems to be the mold Aaron Henry wants for his defense. It builds on the theme that made Devon Witherspoon and Nate Hobbs so successful as cornerbacks at Illinois. Woodward joins some young talent that will be on campus. Players like Elijah McCantos and Jahiem Clarke are all feisty and long products who chose Illinois over some power-five offers.

A strong day

After a slew of impressive commitments last week, Bret Bielema and his staff also added Karsen Konkel from  Pinckneyville, Illinois, decided to commit to Illinois Football per his Twitter page. Konkel visited Champaign the prior weekend, however decided to attend an Arkansas camp that earned him an offer. This led many to believe that perhaps he was waiting on some other offers and trending away from Illinois. However, Bret Bielema continues to prove his recruiting prowess.

These two are strong additions that new coaches, Antonio Fenelus and Robbie Discher contributed to. Bielema continues to strike all the right notes will Illinois fans, as the growing confidence in his competence is clear.