Illinois Football’s 4-star commit Marquez Beason plans on running track, too

Every Illini fan’s biggest fear is a commit like out-of-state 2019 four-star athlete Marquez Beason, who committed in March, not ending up in Champaign.

Beason’s announcement on Twitter on Thursday should dispel those fears a little bit, as he said he plans on joining the track and field team at Illinois, in addition to football.

It’s a big get for Mike Turk’s track program, which is among the best in the country. It’s also not foreign territory to Beason, who runs track at Bishop Dunne High School in Dallas.

Beason — 5-foot-11 and 173 pounds, per 247 — was early momentum for Lovie Smith’s 2019 class, which is shaping up to be his best yet. Beason is the highest-ranked recruit to commit to Illinois since Arrelious Benn in 2007. As a top-100 recruit, Beason had a incredibly impressive offer sheet including LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Oklahoma, among others.

“The visit was good,” Beason told us in March. “Lovie Smith and the entire coaching staff showed me a wonderful time around campus, and I had no complaints.”

Beason participated at the recruiting event The Opening last weekend, showing off to scouts and coaches across the country the kind of insane athlete Illinois is getting.