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Texas wide receiver Cartrell Thomas is planning an official visit to Illinois

Good morning. Welcome to the Orange Minute for Sunday, July 10.

By Jim Vainisi
Photo via Student Sports

During an interview with Scout's Josh Harvey, three-star wide receiver Cartrell Thomas mentioned that he'll be taking an official visit to Illinois near the end of July. The Texas native is the No. 853 overall player in 247Sports' class-of-2017 composite rankings. Thomas has other Power 5 offers from Colorado and Texas Tech.

When asked if any schools in particular were recruiting him hard, Thomas mentioned that he's been in contact with new Illinois wideout coach Andrew Hayes-Stoker quite a bit. Additionally, he currently plans to announce his commitment sometime before high school season starts later this Fall.

The Illini already have verbal commitments from in-state wideouts Ricky Smalling and Kendall Smith, but the position is an area of need so the coaching staff will be looking to add a few more bodies to the mix. Rankings-wise, Thomas would be Illinois' second-best addition -- so he'd obviously be a nice boost to Lovie Smith's efforts.

Illinois Fighting Illini Links

- Malcolm Hill: losing Kendrick Nunn "sucked" (Illini Inquirer)

"It sucked," Hill said Friday. "It hurt. I feel bad for him, especially because I've been a Kendrick Nunn fan since high school before he even knew who I was because of him and Jabari (Parker playing together at Simeon). But I think he's going to do really good at Oakland because he works hard.

- Deron Williams officially re-signs with Dallas Mavericks (Fighting Illini Athletics)

The Dallas Mavericks announced Friday that they have re-signed free agent guard Deron Williams. Last season with Dallas, Williams averaged 14.1 points, a team-high 5.8 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 32.4 minutes in 65 games (63 starts).

- University of Illinois is the nation's No. 11 public school (TCR)

Confirmed: the University of Illinois is a pretty great school. Forbes recently released their list of Top-25 public institutions for 2016, and UIUC cracked the list at No. 11 overall. Illinois was also ranked as one of the best colleges in the Midwest.

- Tales of the Tape: Olalere Oladipo Scouting Report (TCR)

The defensive line is a huge area of need for Fighting Illini football, and that makes Olalere Oladipo's recruitment that much more important. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Illinois native is one of the program's top targets, regardless of class.