Junior wide receiver talks Illini visit

2018 wide receiver Cameron Brown from St. Louis (MO) Christian Brothers College Prep was in Champaign on Saturday for an unofficial visit to Illinois.

Brown and his CBC Cadets are currently making a run at a state championship and are ranked No. 1 in the state Class 6. CBC has a state quarterfinals match up vs. Hazelwood Central this Friday.

OrangeandBlueNews.com caught up with Brown prior to the Illini’s Homecoming game against Minnesota.

“The visit is going well,” Brown said. “I’ll get to see more of the school and talk to the coaches. They have showed me a lot so far.”

Under the Lovie Smith, the Illini have upped their recruiting efforts in the St. Louis area. Running backs Thad Ward is the lead recruiter in the area, which has a growing talent base.

Brown said he keeps in steady contact with Ward.

“I talk to him pretty often,” Brown said. “We keep communication up. And I talk to Coach Stoker a lot also.”

Andrew Hayes-Stoker is the Illini receivers coach, and he has also been heavily involved in Brown’s recruitment.

Brown has visited Nebraska, Iowa St. and Iowa during the football season, and he has another big trip coming up in two weeks.

Just a junior, Brown isn’t ready to name any favorites in his recruitment. He did list the schools that are recruiting him the hardest.

“All the schools that have offered me so far; Mizzou, Iowa, Iowa St., Nebraska, Illinois, Cincinnati, and Vanderbilt,” he said. “I will probably go to Iowa vs. Michigan on Nov. 12. That should be a good game.”

Several other St. Louis area recruits were in Champaign over the weekend, including 4-star defensive tackle Trevor Trout.

“We all talk to each other about what games we like, so we all came up together to see Illinois,” Brown said.