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Lovie Smith reveals what position 4-star recruit Marquez Beason will play at Illinois
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Look on the 247Sports website and Marquez Beason is listed as a wide receiver, and one of the best in the 2019 class to boot. Illinois head coach Lovie Smith has other plans for the 4-star recruit, though.
Beason made his commitment to Illinois official on Wednesday, signing his Letter of Intent on the first day of the Early Signing Period. He’s one of the top 100 players in the 2019 class, a top five player out of Texas and the Illini’s top prospect in quite some time.
And he’s going to play cornerback for Illinois next fall.
Wednesday, Smith talked with Big Ten Network, speaking on Illinois’ incoming 2019 class. Beason, of course, was a major topic of discussion, bringing a ton of talent to Champaign.
Smith confirmed that Beason will play cornerback for the Illini, rather than wide receiver. That should be a huge boost for a defense that struggled mightily throughout a majority of the season.
There was some question as to whether Beason would be an offensive player or a defensive player for the Illini, which is actually a good problem to have. Smith said we’ll see the 4-star prospect on the defensive side of the football.
It’ll be interesting to see if he’s inserted into other roles next season.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB