Illinois Football adds Physical JUCO OL

Illinois Football adds Physical JUCO OL

Illinois Football has added to the class of 2023. In quick fashion, Illinois added Will Leys, an Interior offensive lineman from Saddleback College to their class of 2023. Leys was on campus Wednesday and quickly decided to commit to Bart Miller and the University of Illinois. The recruitment was rather swift. Illinois offered Leys a scholarship on May 17th and quickly closed on his recruitment. Illinois was Leys’ only power-five offer, however he will be expected to compete for the starting job.

The depth at Center.

Leys is a little bit more agile and lengthier than the current starting center, Josh Kreutz. The California native measures 6 foot 3 and 285 pounds which seems a little bit more bulkier than Kreutz. Kreutz got a majority, if not all of the first team snaps this fall and seems ready for a larger role. However, whether Kreutz is the guy or not, Illinois needs depth at each lineman position given the possibilities for injuries. Outside of Kreutz, Illinois would probably be relying on redshirt freshmen to snap the ball.

Having Leys to compete with Kreutz and develop alongside him will be beneficial to the overall floor of the room.

The Rest of the Offensive Line room.

Illinois Football returns two stars on their offensive line. Julian Pearl and Isaiah Adams were players who could have been drafted towards the end of the 2023 NFL draft, however they chose to return. Illinois football seems to always be hungry depth. They have options outside of Pearl and Adams, however they seem to be most concerned about their starting Center. They had Avery Jones decommit, and they recently were after Amaury Wiggins who just recently committed to Arkansas.

Leys may be the backup option to the backup option given his lack of power five offers, however it was important to land a big body that has traits that they like.

Look, I will be honest. It’s no celebration or ground breaking news when we land a transfer from SIU or a JUCO lineman without any other power-five offers. But look, we need some articles celebrating a small victory, right? Thanks for reading.