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Three-star OL Larry Boyd commits to Illinois over Missouri, Arkansas Oklahoma State

Boyd is so far the biggest recruit of the Lovie Smith era.

By Jim Vainisi

According to Jeremy Werner, three-star offensive lineman Larry Boyd committed to Illinois football during a campus visit on Saturday night. The big 6-foot-5, 310-pound St. Louis product is the No. 441 overall player in 247Sports' class-of-2017 composite rankings. He was also considering Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma State.

Boyd held other Power 5 offers from Iowa State, Kansas State, Minnesota, Purdue, and Wisconsin. Saturday marked his second trip to Champaign in the last three weeks, so it was clear that the coaching staff had made significant progress in a short amount of time.

Scouting Report (via TCR)

Overall, Boyd is one of Illinois' top targets on the offensive line -- he's a terrific pass and run blocker. Boyd has benefited from huge size advantages over defenders at times, but that shouldn't take away from his great measurables and skills. He's nasty, tough, aggressive, physical, and he never stops working.

Although his feet are great most of the time, Boyd occasionally crosses over instead of side-shuffling, which leaves him vulnerable against more athletic rushers. That should improve with more coaching and experience.

  • Excellent Strength
  • Excellent Power
  • Great Quickness
  • Great Burst
  • Great Speed
Final Rating: 9.0 (Four-Star)

I was at practice today, and I think I may have seen the decision take place. Boyd was walking along the sideline with Lovie Smith, and the two were joined by Josh Whitman not long after. There was a pretty long exchange followed by a lot of smiles and handshakes -- offensive line coach Luke Butkus even stopped by to chat in-between drills.

Boyd is the second commitment in as many days for the Fighting Illini, as three-star defensive back Tony Adams joined the program on Friday afternoon. Illinois now has nine 2017 commitments, and they've slid ahead of Minnesota for the No. 13 class in the Big Ten.

Larry Boyd Highlights