Zook Makes a Statement

In a pre-season Big Ten annual, a Big Ten coach said he didn't know if Ron Zook was such a great recruiter, after all, his wife could recruit at Florida. Well, that coach and the rest of the Big Ten coaches had better take notice of what's happening in Champaign.

Isiah Williams out of Chicago (Vocational) is one of the elite quarterback prospects in the nation. The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder, had more scholarship offers on his table that he could have ever imagined but he’s been keeping something from all of us the past two weeks. “Juice” has made his verbal commitment and now he’s ready to do some recruiting of his own.

“I’ve actually been committed to Illinois for a couple of week,” Isiah Williams said.

“The only people who knew where myself and the Illinois coaches, I just couldn’t hold it in any longer. It was like having this great secret that you just wanted to tell the whole world. I was ready to bust, so I went ahead and made it public.”

Williams, a 4-star quarterback prospect, joins Chris James of Chicago (Morgan Park), as recent commitments to the Illinois. Williams and James are both “Top 5” prospects in the Land of Lincoln and “Top 100” regional prospects. Isiah is a shoe-in for National “100” recognition.

Ron Zook and his staff at Illinois have went after its home turf with reckless abandon and they’ve done a marvelous job in offering the top prospects and selling what the University has to offer.

“Illinois just felt like home,” Williams explained. “The location is perfect, my family can come watch me play, the academics are excellent and the atmosphere with the fans is also a factor.

“Maybe the top reason for my commitment was the situation at quarterback. I have a great opportunity to play early at Illinois.”

Isiah Williams has been compared to a young Byron Leftwitch. He has a cannon for an arm and put his arm-strength on display at the Scout.com All-American Combine in Champaign last month.

Williams turned down offers from the likes of Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Iowa so he could stay home and play for his state school. What message does “Juice” have for the rest of the top prospects in Illinois?

“I’ll be doing some recruiting,” Williams said. “I’m going to be on Marques Wilkins (Illinois) , Jerry Brown (Missouri) and the other guys who have offers from Illinois. We’re going to get this thing turned around.

“I’m just happy my commitment to Illinois is now public. I just couldn’t wait to tell the whole world that I was committed to Illinois.”

This was a “Key” get for Illinois. They needed to land either Williams or Demetrius Jones in this recruiting class. Williams jumping on board this early will definitely give the Fighting Illini some momentum with the rest of the top in-state prospects.

Reggie Mitchell was hired by Ron Zook because of his reputation for being a great recruiter and so far, Coach Mitchell, has been worth his weight in gold and then some.