Illinois making moves in St. Louis but will it translate into wins?
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The city of St. Louis has seen a noticeable rise in elite football talent over the last decade and the 2019 class is a perfect example. Currently, three players in the Rivals250 hail from the city and that’s on the heels of four Rivals250 players in the 2018 class.
So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that colleges are working to make an impact in the city but one surprising program, Illinois, could have a leg up on the competition going forward.
During the offseason, the Illini hired Trinity Catholic High School coach Cory Patterson to coach tight ends and the young, charismatic Patterson is already making a major impact on the school’s recruiting efforts in his former city.
Illinois currently has two commitments from the city in the fold, including Rivals100 athlete Isaiah Williams, who plans to follow his former high school coach to Champaign. If Williams sticks with the school, he will be one of the highest signees by the program in the Rivals.com era. But according to recruits at the recent Chicago stop of the Rivals 3 Stripe Camp Series presented by adidas, the school’s work in the city is just getting started.
“I think that was a smart move for them to hire coach Patterson,” three-star St. Louis athlete Isaiah Azubuike said. “Everybody in the city knows him and knows what he’s about. He will get players to come with him and help turn the program around.”
In the two years since Lovie Smith took over the head coaching job in Champaign, wins have been tough to come by, with just a 5-19 record. But recruits say it’s not always about wins and losses when it comes to picking a school.
“Really, it’s all about the coaches,” three-star offensive tackle Jack Buford, a St. Louis native said. “People just want to be around other people they can be comfortable with or in an environment they can feel comfortable with … It’s all about the people and that’s why I think they’re doing such a good job. It’s a pro-style staff, and they’re just doing a good job of getting people in there.”
That’s where Patterson’s role comes in. Having already had success as a head coach at the high school level, his message to recruits isn’t just to follow him to Illinois, it’s to come in and be a major cog in the program’s turnaround. Patterson has taken the lead on several elite recruits, including top St. Louis players such as Rivals250 wide receiver Marcus Washington.
“I just feel like everyone wants to be the person that changes the culture,” three-star St. Louis native Kyren Williams said. “I feel that at Illinois it’s capable for anyone from St. Louis to come in and help do that. So I feel like everybody is going to look at that and see if they can fill that role.”
Heading into 2018, hopes are higher that the program continues to show progress and Buford said he expects the school to play much better than it did during a 2-10 season in 2017.
“I think that they’re slowly going to keep coming up because the team is young,” he said. “Last year they started a lot of freshmen and they have more 2018 and 2019 guys coming in. So I think things are just only looking up for Illinois.”
As far as whether or not wins and losses will impact the school’s efforts in St. Louis, Kyren Williams said as long as Smith and Patterson are still there, expect the St. Louis prospect to remain loyal.
“I think everyone will stay no matter what,” he said. “Those coaches have great relationships with the players.”
Kyren Williams and Isaiah Azubuike competed at the recent Rivals 3 Stripe Camp in Chicago. Check out highlights below:
