Okpala is set to decide on Friday evening. Illinois and Mizzou are thought to be the favorites, but I wouldn't be shocked to see an out of the box pick here. Okpala has played this close to the vest, and no one has enough confidence to make a FutureCast pick. Other offers are Iowa State, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Vandy, Wisconsin. The Huskers are one of the other top contenders. I would put Illinois' chances at around 60 percent, maybe a bit higher, but I'm not making a FutureCast pick on this one. Not quite at that point yet. This kid, and everyone around him, have not named any favorites or given any hints, so speculation revolves around how the coaching staffs are feeling about their chances. (Illinois thinks they have him). Okpala is the most important recruit left on the Illinois board, IMO. They need to close on this one.
Clark announced a final 2 of Illinois and Arizona. He arrives in Champaign for his official visit tonight, and Illinois heads into this visit needing to hit a home run to jump ahead of Arizona. It's possible. They do well on visits. If he was picking a school today it would be Arizona. Commitment on Wednesday. We should be able to talk to him this weekend to see how this is going. Really like this kid as a center. Butkus badly needs a recruiting win.
Isaiah Williams and some other Trinity kids will be at the game, and Cooper is expected to be one of them. He still says he's committing in January. Oklahoma has thought to be the main competition, but I believe if he was a priority for the Sooners he would be committed already. IMO, Texas will become a major player after they picked up a commitment from Trinity WR Marcus Washington. He still loves Illinois, but if the Illini don't finish the season on a positive note I think Cooper is gone. A good performance against Minnesota on Saturday is really important. I would say that it's also possible that he could fall into Illinois' hands if he does wait until January, with other programs filled up.
