Keith Randolph signs with Illinois

It shouldn’t be considered a surprise, but Illinois signed in-state DE Keith Randolph during the Early Signing Period on Wednesday, despite not receiving a commitment before the start of the period.

Randolph announced his plans to commit and sign via Twitter on Monday.

A native of Belleville, Randolph stars at Belleville West as a strong-side defensive end and on the basketball team at 6-foot-5, 270 pounds. A three-star recruit, Randolph had a handful of offers from Big Ten schools, including Michigan State, Purdue and Iowa, but chose the Illini.

Cory Patterson and Austin Clark led the recruiting for Randolph.

He picked up a last-minute offer from Florida State on Tuesday, and visited Illinois earlier in December. Randolph is the 12th-best recruit in Illinois in 2019.

This was a class that definitely could still add some guys on the defensive line, and Randolph will fit right in. Look for him to get a year to develop and then have a chance to play on the line with some upperclassmen in 2020. That’d be ideal and the way for Clark to start building the Illini’s line.

Take a look at his first two games from this season in this highlight video.

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