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I was in a bad mood this morning. You see, I had a radio interview that was scheduled for 7:30am, which is far earlier than I typically wake up on a Sunday morning (something about working past 2am on Saturday nights). But since doing radio and promoting Eye on College Football is part of my job, I gladly agreed to do the segment -- I also have another segment at 7am on Monday -- even though I knew I'd be exhausted.
Well, I woke up at 7am and then waited. And waited. And waited. 7:30 came and went. No call. Eventually it was 8am and the show I was supposed to be on had ended.
No call ever came. No explanation was given.
So I went back to bed because I was tired, and I was pretty annoyed. But then, a few hours later I woke up to this.
LERON BLACK COMMITTED TO ILLINOIS.
— Dustin Ford (@Dustin_Ford) September 1, 2013
And Leron Black has given the #Illini coaching staff a verbal commitment.
— Marcus Jackson (@MarcusJ_NG) September 1, 2013
"Before I came here this weekend, I knew Illinois is where I wanted to be," Black just told me. #Illini
— Marcus Jackson (@MarcusJ_NG) September 1, 2013
Man does this news make me happier about this weekend.
John Groce continues to prove that he can land the big fish. Rivals has Black rated as a five-star and the No. 22 player overall in the 2014 class. 247Sports' composite rankings only have Black as a four-star -- though his rating is .9861 and you need to be .9900 to be five-star -- but also rank him as the No. 34 player in the class.
In other words, this is a big deal.
This is not the commitment that vaults the Illini to the top of the Big Ten, but it is the kind of commitment they need to get, and keep getting, to get there.
Welcome to the Illini, Leron Black. I can't tell you how happy we are to have you.
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