Illini offer in-state lineman
Illinois reached out to the one of the top ranked in-state offensive lineman when they extended an offer to Adam Lemke-Bell from Oak Park (Ill.) River Forest.
The Illini have been on Lemke-Bell (6-foot-5, 265-pounds) since last year, and they have had him on campus for unofficial visits several times. Lemke-Bell said he has a 'great' relationship with the staff at Illinois, so he was pleased to pick up the offer.
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"I've been getting recruited for a while by Coach Golesh and Coach Ricker," Lemke-Bell said. "They finally came through with an offer (Thursday) and I was really happy. I've gotten to know them and they are great guys."
With the offer, Illinois joins Minnesota, Northwestern, and Rutgers as Big Ten schools extending offers to Lemke-Bell. He also holds offers from Mississippi St., Syracuse, and several MAC and Ivy League schools.
So does the offer put Illinois in strong contention?
"For sure - I like Illinois a lot," Lemke-Bell said. "I've been down there a few times for games and for a junior day. I've been to the stadium a bunch and seen all the facilities. Everything I've seen around the campus I really liked."
Though he is partial to the schools that have come through with offers, Lemke-Bell says he doesn't have any leaders yet.
"I haven't really thought about it a lot," he said. "I'm just kind of taking them as they come and being grateful for that. When you first get an offer it's really cool - Illinois is one of them, Minnesota, Northwestern, Mississippi State. But I don't have a real definitive list of favorites."
Lemke-Bell plans to take some visits this summer and start to sort things out. Look for a final college decision late summer or early fall.
"I was hoping to make a decision before the football season starts," Lemke-Bell said. "But I don't know when I'm going to take official visits. I'm going to wait it out a little bit and see."
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