Recruiting Wrap

Why Kyle Prater will pick USC

Posted by: Jeremy Werner

Tuesday, September 1, 2009 9:04 AM

Kyle Prater, ranked the No. 1 wide receiver and No. 4 overall prospect in the nation by Rivals.com, is scheduled to make his college decision announcement on Wednesday at Proviso West High School in Hillside. The 6-foot-5 receiver reportedly has offers from more than 40 Division I schools but will choose from a five-team list which includes Illinois, USC, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Notre Dame.

It is widely rumored that Prater will put on a USC hat tomorrow. Prater told Scout.com national recruiting editor Allen Wallace that the Trojans "seem the most interested" in him. He also told Zack Lehatto of USCFootball.com, a subsidiary site of Rivals.com, on Aug. 11 that "USC is still the leader, nothing at all to change that," following his visit to the California campus.

Illinois has been among Prater's leaders since the beginning of his recruitment, while USC just made a late charge. So why will Prater be choosing the Trojans over the close-to-home Illini? And why would Illinois still be a good choice for Prater? IlliniHQ breaks it down.

 

Why Illinois makes sense for Prater?

•1. Location - Simple enough. Champaign-Urbana is just a 2 ½ hour drive from Hillside. Prater's friends and family could come to almost every home game and several Big Ten away games. The Los Angeles campus of Southern California is more than 2,000 miles from the Chicago-area.

•2. Close relationships - Prater has become a part of the Illini family over the past year or so. He is very close friends with Illinois commit Corey Cooper, a safety from Proviso East, and works out often with future Illini quarterback Chandler Whitmer. At the June 6 Nike Football Training Camp in Champaign, Prater sat and talked at length with Cooper, Whitmer and Illinois senior quarterback Juice Williams. Prater's comfort level with the program, players and coaches is obviously one of the main reasons Illinois has stayed near the top of his list even while more prestigious programs have come calling.

•3. Arrelious Benn - Like most Division I recruits, Prater's ultimate goal is to make it to the NFL. Though Illinois hasn't seen many of its players drafted in recent years, junior wide receiver Arrelious Benn is projected to be a first-round draft pick in the 2010 Draft should he forego his senior season. Like Prater, Benn was a five-star recruit coming out of high school. Benn has 121 catches for 1,731 yards in his two years at Illinois. Even with a talented receiving core, Prater would likely see immediate playing at Illinois and be the focal point of the passing game for at least two seasons.­

Why USC makes sense for Prater?

•1. Lights, camera, action - Though there are better "college football towns," nowhere is the spotlight brighter for a college star than ­Hollywood. In a city with no professional team, LA loves its college stars and treats them like the hottest movie stars (see Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and Mark Sanchez). Prater would receive more exposure at USC - for better or for worse - than anywhere else.

•2. NFL U - Penn State calls itself Linebacker U. Tennessee fans like to call the Knoxville program Wide Receiver U. But in his nine-year tenure as coach, Pete Carroll has surpassed Miami (Fla.) to take the title of "NFL U." Fifty-three USC players being drafted since 2000, including the fourteen Trojans selected in the first round since 2003. Six of those USC players drafted since 2001 have been wide receivers: Kareem Kelly, Keary Colbert, Steve Smith, Mike Williams, Dwayne Jarrett and Pat Turner. Illinois has had two (Brandon Lloyd and Walter Young).

•3. USC quarterbacks - Illinois has recruited a solid core of quarterbacks since Zook has come to campus. Juice Williams will solidify himself in the record books this year, and Jacob Charest, Nathan Scheelhaase and Chandler Whitmer were top-30 quarterback prospects out of high school. But that pedigree is nothing compared to USC. Carson Palmer (2003), Matt Leinart (2006) and Mark Sanchez (2009) were first-round draft picks. A backup at USC, Matt Cassell recently signed a six-year, $63-million deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. John David Booty was a fifth-round choice of the Minnesota Vikings in 2007. If Prater elects to go to USC, he will likely receive passes for some or most of his stay in LA from Matt Barkley, the top-rated quarterback recruit in the Class of 2009 who was just named the Trojans starter. A receiver's best friend is an elite quarterback. Just ask Randy Moss or Marvin Harrison.

Both schools make sense, but you can't say the kid is making a mistake if he chooses USC. His goal is to get to the NFL and Pete Carroll has proven he can take his players there. Rejus Benn is a shining example of what an elite receiver can do in just a little time at Illinois, but he is just one example. Illinois will struggle to keep elite players in state once a team like USC becomes involved no matter what the Illini record is this season or next. USC brings in great players because of its continued glitz, glamour and gridiron success. At least for Illinois, Pete Carroll doesn't shop for talent in the Land of Lincoln very often. Because like in the battle for Prater, it doesn't appear the Illini stand a chance against the mighty Trojans.

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