Illinois extended a scholarship offer to in-state punter Declan Duley from El Paso - Gridley (Ill.), one of highest ranked punters nationally in the class of 2023.

Orange and Blue News caught up with Duley via Twitter message to get the lowdown on his offer and update his recruitment.

Kohl's Kicking, one of the top kicking and punting training organizations in the nation, ranks Duley the No. 12 punter in the class of 2023.

The offer from the Illini comes on the heels of an official visit over the weekend to watch the Illini take on Virginia.

"The visit was amazing," Duley said. "Before the game my family and I met with coach Bielema which then he explained what he was offering. We did a lot. Ate breakfast with coaches, watched the game, had a photoshoot, and much more."

Illinois is looking to shore up the kicking game with the 2023 recruiting class. The Illini have a commitment from highly-ranked place kicker David Olano from Naperville (Ill.) North.

Duley calls the offer from Illinois a "very special opportunity", especially coming from his home state school.

He's still letting the recruiting process run its course and is getting other Power 5 looks.

"I have a full scholarship offer from Troy University," he said. "I’m also talking to Kansas, Miami, Michigan State, and Army."

NOTES FROM KOHL'S KICKING

Duley's most recent camp was in May of 2022 and he scored 117.9 points at camp. He also won the punt charts at the Underclassman Challenge. He is able to hit 5.0 hang-times as a high school player. In December, he scored 102 points during the charting phase from in the pocket. Duley also attended the 2021 Kohl's National Scholarship Camp and had some of the more impressive punts at camp. He is a strong leftie who has the ability to hit 50+ yard punts with over 4.7 seconds of hang time consistently. Punting is where Duley is special and we are excited to see how good he can become in the next year