3-star DL will visit for junior day

Illinois was the first Power 5 offer for 3-star defensive tackle Johnathan Berghorst from Zeeland (Mich.) East when they extended an offer last summer.

Other offers on the table are from Western Michigan, Central Michigan, and Toledo. The 6-foot-3, 255-pound Berghorst is set to take some visits soon when the recruiting dead period ends on Jan. 13.

“I’ll go to the four school I’ve been offered by,” he said. “Also probably Northwestern, Michigan, Michigan St., and Indiana. I’ve also been hearing from Purdue.”

Berghorst camped at Illinois and impressed the coaching staff last spring. His familiarity with head coach Bill Cubit goes back to when Cubit coached at Western Michigan and Berghorst attended a youth camp there.

The Illini visit is set for Jan. 31.

“Illinois is the only date I know of for sure so far,” Berghorst said. “I will get to see Coach Phair and Coach Cubit and talk to them about how their season went, and what they saw in me. I’ll get to see the campus and learn more about Illinois.”

On the field, Berghorst helped lead his team to a 7-2 playing on both the offensive and defensive line.

“I made first team all-state on offensive and defense, so it was a really good year,” he said.

Besides the junior days, Berghorst said he will likely hit some more camps this summer. He doesn’t have a specific timetable for a decision, but look for him to trim his list.

“I will probably narrow it down to a top five this spring,” Berghorst said. “I will commit if school feels right and I know everything I need to know about the school.”