Nebraska football loses big recruiting battle to conference foe

The Nebraska football team suffered its first recruiting loss of 2018 as talented athlete Marquez Beason announced he committed to Illinois.

Last Monday, the Nebraska football team got its first commitment of the 2018 class. This Monday, the Cornhuskers had their first big loss of the year.

Perhaps defying most recruiting analysts’ projections, one of the top athletes in the entire class announced his commitment to the Illinois Fighting Illini. The announcement has to come as a huge coup for Illinois which has been getting a steady string of bad news on the football front over the last few months.

Beason is able to play both wide receiver and cornerback and is considered the sixth-ranked athlete in the class by 247Sports. Beason is also the ninth-ranked player in the state of Texas and the 54th best player in the entire class.

While there had been a chance Illinois would win the 4-star prospect’s services, most prognosticators thought he was headed to LSU. In total, Beason has 44 offers on the table so it’s a safe bet the recruiting battle isn’t really over.

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Beason has not yet officially visited Illinois. Nor has he visited the Huskers yet.

It’s a safe bet Scott Frost’s staff is going to keep the pressure up and try and get him to change his mind. They’re going to need to do something because this is a big loss.

It’s one thing to lose four and five-star athletes to Michigan, Penn State, or Ohio State. It’s another to lose to Illinois.

Lovie Smith apparently put together one heck of a pitch. Scott Frost and his crew should do everything they can to mirror and improve on that.

Marquez Beason has shown he’s willing to leave the state of Texas. He’s also shown he’s willing to spurn schools like Florida State, Georgia and Oklahoma. It’s time for the Nebraska football team to try and get him to spurn Illinois as well.