In a critical regular-season game against Mount Carmel, Brother Rice receiver Ricky Smalling scored three touchdowns and displayed his game-changing abilities.
Nothing was more astonishing than the score that sealed the game. With the Crusaders leading by a touchdown with less than three minutes to play, Smalling caught a quick out and evaded two defenders — one with a stiff-arm and one with a leave-him-in-the-dust juke — for a 17-yard touchdown.
That big-play capability has been missing for Illinois, which signed Smalling on Wednesday as part of a 24-player recruiting class, coach Lovie Smith’s first in Champaign. He’s one of 10 in-state signees, Illinois’ most since 2007.
Though junior-college quarterback Dwayne Lawson was unable to sign because of academics, the Illini added two players Wednesday — defensive ends Bobby Roundtree of Florida and Jamal Woods of Alabama — to a class that left the coaching staff satisfied. Illinois was 44th nationally and 10th in the Big Ten in the 247Sports.com composite rankings.
"It’s just understanding of the game and knowing everyone’s responsibility," Smalling said of his knack for big plays. "And it’s just playing off instinct."
Illinois drives stalled frequently last season. The Illini ranked 13th in the Big Ten in scoring (19.7 points per game) and total offense (315.1 yards per game) and 11th in passing (174.6 ypg).
Wide receivers coach Andrew Hayes-Stoker praised the ability of Smalling, a three-star prospect who had the highest rating in Illinois’ class. He was the No. 6 player in the state, No. 52 receiver nationally and had offers from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa State, Virginia and Syracuse.
He finished his Brother Rice career with 230 catches for 4,426 yards and 43 touchdowns.
"Ricky demonstrates a variety of skills that are going to be dynamic," Stoker-Hayes said on Illinois’ website. "Ricky has great hands and competes for the ball. … Ricky’s got good run-after catch, highly competitive player. He’s a type of guy who’s conscientious about his routes. He’s got a really good feel and knack for the game."
Smalling and fellow receiver Kendall Smith of Bolingbrook were the first players to commit to Lovie Smith after he took over the program in March. Lovie Smith said the two helped the coaching staff spread the word to other recruits.
"The recruiting process wasn’t that hard," Smalling said. "When Lovie and his staff came to Illinois, I had a great feeling about it. They let me know I was their No. 1 and who they really wanted to get on board early with. I liked the plan. I wanted to help build Illinois up and help build the class."
sryan@chicagotribune.com
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Illini class at a glance
Instant impact: Hardy Nickerson led Illinois in tackles last season as a graduate transfer from California. Another transfer, Del’Shawn Phillips of Garden City (Kan.) Community College, could be in line to take Nickerson’s place at middle linebacker. Phillips helped Garden City win a national championship last fall with 95 tackles, 121/2 for a loss, and he’s already enrolled Artemisbet in Champaign.
Under the radar: Some are calling Prospect offensive tackle Alex Palczewski the steal of the Illini’s class. Though he was ranked only 39th in the state, in part because a neck injury as a junior limited his exposure, the 6-foot-6, 270-pound Palczewski also drew interest from Vanderbilt, North Carolina and Syracuse.
Local angle: Six of Illinois’ 10 in-state signees are from the Chicago area, including Palczewski and receivers Ricky Smalling (Brother Rice) and Kendall Smith (Bolingbrook). Huntley defensive end Lere Oladipo was one of the bigger "gets" for Lovie Smith in this class; he beat out Penn State and Indiana for the 6-3, 240-pound edge rusher. The Illini also signed Marian Catholic quarterback Cameron Thomas and St. Rita linebacker Marc Mondesir.
Illini signees
Tony Adams, DB, 6-0, 185, Belleville
Ra’Von Bonner, RB, 6-0, 210, Cincinnati
Larry Boyd, OL, 6-5, 310, St. Louis
*Owen Carney Jr., DL, 6-3, 230, Miami
Dawson DeGroot, DB, 6-2, 180, Fort Myers, Fla.
Louis Dorsey, TE, 6-6, 220, Jacksonville, Fla.
Mike Epstein, RB, 6-0, 185, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
*Carmoni Green, WR, 6-1, 190, Miami
Kendrick Green, DL, 6-3, 270, Peoria
Nate Hobbs, DB, 6-0, 170, Louisville, Ky.
James Knight, LB, 5-11, 210, East St. Louis
Vederian Lowe, OL, 6-5, 330, Rockford Auburn
Marc Mondesir, LB, 6-2, 210, St. Rita
Lere Oladipo, DL, 6-3, 240, Huntley
Alex Palczewski, OL, 6-6, 270, Prospect
Deon Pate, DL, 6-3, 245, Jacksonville, Fla.
*Del’Shawn Phillips, LB, 6-1, 230, Garden City CC
Bobby Roundtree, DL, 6-4, 230, Largo, Fla.
Ricky Smalling, WR, 6-1, 195, Brother Rice
Kendall Smith, WR, 6-2, 175, Bolingbrook
Cameron Thomas, QB, 6-3, 180, Marian Catholic
*HoJo Watkins Jr., OL, 6-5, 280, Cincinnati
Bennett Williams, DB, 5-11, 195, Campbell, Calif.
Jamal Woods, DL, 6-3, 240, Hueytown, Ala.
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