JUCO cornerback pulls to the trigger
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Just off of an official visit to Illinois over the weekend, JUCO defensive back Ahmari Hayes from the College of San Mateo (Calif.) pulled the trigger for the Illini.
"You can't beat the opportunity I have to continue my education at Illinois," Hayes said. "That's really the main reason I chose to go to Illinois.
Hayes will be a midyear transfer and will enroll at Illinois for the spring semester.
"That's a huge thing for me," Hayes said. "I get to be with the team early when they are going through their hardest workouts of the year. I can bond with them and learn the system."
Hayes didn't have any DI offers coming out of high school in Davis (Calif.), so he decided to go the JUCO route. He plans to be a mid-year transfer and would enroll at Illinois in January should he choose the Illini.
Illinois put themselves in good position to land the 6-foot-3, 180-pound Hayes during his visit. He had a good official visit, and got to spend time getting to know the current Illini players.
"The visit went really well," he said. "I really loved the hospitality that the coaches showed me. The thing I liked the most is the players were welcoming me as if I was already part of the team."
Hayes singled out the academic reputation of the school and the team chemistry as deciding factors for him.
The JUCO offer made sense for Illinois. With senior starters Eaton Spence and V'Angelo Bentley moving on, the Illini are in need a corner that can play right away.
"The thing they like about me is that since I'm a JC player I have game experience," Hayes said.
According to Hayes, the Illini staff also like his length and cover skills.
Illinois assistants Mike Phair and Tim Banks are both involved in the recruitment of Hayes. Banks would be his position coach.
"I'm excited to have him as a coach," Hayes said about Banks. "You can tell he knows what he's talking about, the schemes are the same things that we run here at San Mateo."
Hayes is the 18th commitment for Illinois in the class of 2016 and the first from the junior college ranks.