Malik Elzy got countless scholarship offers at big-time football powerhouses due to his incredible play as a wide receiver at Chicago’s Simeon Career Academy, and he’s decided he’s going to stay close to home, opting to play at the University of Illinois.
Elzy, the 6-foot-3 and 200 pound wide receiver who caught 23 touchdown passes in his junior and senior seasons, says he got nearly two dozen scholarship offers, including from Notre Dame, Michigan and Tennessee, but opted to stay in-state for his collegiate career.
“The world knows I’m staying home, and it’s a good feeling to get off my chest,” he said.
Elzy is the highest-ranked football prospect from the state to choose to play at Illinois since at least 2015, and is the highest-ranked prospect from Chicago Public Schools to choose the Illini in the last 15 years.
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He got plenty of attention from college scouts, and it’s easy to see why.
“He’s big, strong, dominant. When the ball comes, he’s just attacking it like he’s taught to do,” head coach Dante Culbreath said. “Just a playmaker. You just want to give him a chance to make a play.”
The talented wide receiver says that Illini head coach Bret Bielema, who just led the team to an 8-5 season and a berth in the ReliaQuest Bowl, was a big selling point in his decision process.
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“Coach Bielema, what he’s doing, I like what he’s doing with the program, so I feel like I could be that pipeline for the kids coming up under me, showing them and leading them that staying home is not a bad idea,” he said.
The Illini have been searching for offensive weapons to complement what was one of the best defenses in the nation last season, and if Elzy can deliver on his goals, then the team could become a massive force in the Big Ten.
“I just want to be legendary,” he said. “I want people to remember my last name like they remember Kobe’s and LeBron’s. I want my last name, Elzy, go down in history and build a legacy.”
