Four-star Athlete Marquez Beason Commits to Illinois

The 2019 football recruiting cycle is off to a great start for Lovie Smith and staff with four-star athlete Marquez Beason announcing his commitment to the Fighting Illini.

Beason is the highest ranked recruit to commit to Illinois since Arrelious Benn signed in 2007.

Beason played both WR and DB in his time at Bishop Dunne High School in Dallas, Texas. He will join his fellow high school teammates and 2018 recruits Calvin Avery and Kievan Myers at Illinois.

As a top-100 recruit, Beason had a incredibly impressive offer sheet including LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Oklahoma among others.

Beason played on both sides of the ball in high school, but will most likely be slotted in at cornerback to start his Illinois career.

This is a huge get for Lovie Smith and his Texas connections continue to pay off for Illinois. After a slow start to recruiting for the 2018 class, it was important for 2019 to start with some early momentum. Beason represents that and more for Illinois.

This is the type of recruit that will help Illinois pull in other top targets. The 2019 class needs to be much improved for Illinois, and it looks like that just may be the case with the commitment of Marquez Beason.