Early 2022 Illinois Commits

For many 2022 prospects the recruiting process is just beginning to heat up, but not for these juniors-to-be who have seen all they need from potential suitors. While an early verbal commitment won’t stop other college coaches and recruiters from contacting and recruiting elite prospects, it will enable them to put recruiting on the backburner and focus on competing at the high school level. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="20858" first="Rashad" last="Rochelle"], Springfield High School: QB</strong> – Despite three B1G offers Rochelle has ended his search for a college destination at Rutgers. The 5’11 170 lb dual-threat QB is a walking big play.  With 37 total touchdowns Rochelle earned honorable mention all-state honors as a Sophomore to go along with his MaxPreps player of the year award. With the expectation that Rochelle’s list of B1G offers will grow quite substantially over the next year, many believe it’s unlikely he will stick with his Rutgers commitment, but for now, the electric playmaker that has shown elite make-you-miss ability with his legs, and consistent accuracy with his arm will be heading to New Jersey at the conclusion of his high school career. <strong><img class="size-medium wp-image-31590 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/07/IL-Dontrell-Jackson-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" />Dontrell Jackson, Marist: QB - </strong>Jackson is the second dual-threat QB out of the class of 2022 to give an early verbal commitment. While Jackson didn’t quite put up the numbers of a Rochelle in his sophomore season, it doesn’t take more than a couple of plays into his highlight film to see a player with elite vision and the ability to put his foot in the ground and be explosive out of cuts in a way that makes him exceptionally difficult to bring down. The Chicago native has an offer from the University of Illinois but has instead chosen to commit to Coastal Carolina. As if Coach Chadwell at Coastal needed any more proof of the job he’s done (his team is currently 11-0 and playing in the Sun Belt Championship this weekend), stealing a player like Jackson from the B1G team in his own backyard will go a long way in proving Chadwell and his staff can not only coach, but they can recruit too.