RB Nick Fedanzo commits to Illinois

It's been a while since Illinois landed an impact player from Lombard's Montini Catholic football factory.

That drought ended when running back Nick Fedanzo committed to Illinois this afternoon.

Illinois offered in March of this year, and quietly worked this recruitment before finally closing it down while Fedanzo visited this weekend.

Fedanzo is a top-40 in-state player with few Division I offers — including Air Force, Ball State and Kent State — but if you watch his film, you can see why Illinois likes his game so much.

Unlike Kyron Cumby —who committed yesterday and is more of a scatback receiver type — Fedanzo brings size, speed and between the tackles tenacity to the Illini backfield.

Standing at 6-foot, and weighing 200 pounds, his tape clearly shows a hard-nosed runner who brings a Mike Epstein-like jack of all trades quality to the running back competition next year.

He, like most freshman, could use a redshirt season, but he has all the makings of a solid contributor both on offense and on special teams as a return man.

Illinois now has seven commitments for the class of 2019, and they've brought a nice speed element to the team that has been sorely lacking in recent years. Fedanzo looks to be a nice addition.