Illini Offer A Scholarship To Jeff George Jr.

The Illini already have one quarterback in their 2014 class, but it appears they're willing to make room for the son of one of the greatest quarterbacks in school history.

It was 25 years ago when Jeff George began his career at Illinois after transferring from Purdue, and in his two seasons with the Illini he threw for 4,995 yards and 31 touchdowns before becoming the first pick in the 1990 NFL Draft. Now it's his son, Jeff George Jr, that could be playing quarterback for the Illini.

The younger George was in Champaign for Illinois' 7-on-7 camp Saturday and performed well enough to earn a scholarship offer.

"Coach Beckman was just hey we'd love to have you in the program and you'd be a great fit and we're excited to get things rolling and we want you to be part of Illinois football," George told 247Sports.com. "It's exciting. It's kind of almost a relief because everybody works for that and is looking for the first one. I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't for the guys on the team and the coaching staff, I couldn't have done it without them."

"My Dad played there so Illinois has always kind of been my second home. He's still very connected there and I grew up an Illinois fan. It's a cool deal and with what my dad did there, he lit it up there and ended up being the number one draft pick, so it's kind of a cool place where he made his name so for it to be my first offer is kind of cool."

Illinois is the first offer for George, though he's gotten some interest from Indiana, Purdue, Louisville and Akron.

Of course, whether George ends up committing to the Illini or not, this offer does make me wonder about what it could mean.

Tim Beckman has said that the Illini are going to have a small class to work with in 2014 thanks to a lack of available scholarships, so I can't help but ask myself what this means for Wes Lunt. If Beckman and the Illini felt confident that they'd be landing Lunt via transfer, would they be offering another quarterback a scholarship in the 2014 class? Even if it's the son of Jeff George?

I don't know, but I guess we'll be finding out soon enough. (Update: WE DONE FOUND OUT)

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