Illini 2021 3-Star LB Commit Trevor Moffitt: “I think I can be an All-American”

Trevor Moffitt, the newest football commit of Illinois’ 2021 recruiting class, isn’t shy about setting high expectations for his college football career.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Despite being under-recruited and even not rated at all by a national recruiting service, Trevor Moffitt certainly isn’t lacking for self-confidence.

The newest high school verbal commitment for Illinois’ 2021 recruiting class has high aspirations for his college career and sees his skill set similarly to regularly-known five-star prospects.

“You’re not going to find a guy that works harder but at the same time and on top of that, in the most humble way I can say this - I think I’m one of the most athletic kids in the country and I mean that,” Moffitt said. “And with a guy like (Illinois head coach) Lovie Smith and (Illinois linebacker coach) Miles Smith leading me, I think the sky is the limit for me. I think I can be an All-American.”

Trevor Moffitt, a three-star linebacker from the Tampa area, became the third verbal commitment of Illinois' 2021 recruiting class earlier this week / Photo graphic provided by Trevor Moffitt

"In the most humble way I can say this - I think I’m one of the most athletic kids in the country and I mean that. I think the sky is the limit for me. I think I can be an All-American.” - Illinois 2021 3-star LB Trevor Moffitt

Illinois hasn’t produced an All-American selection since 2011 with current Houston Texans pass rusher Whitney Mercilus. The once-touted ‘Linebacker U’ program of the Big Ten Conference in the early 90s hasn’t seen an All-American in the second level of its defense since Phil Steele Yearbook named Brit Miller a third-team selection in 2008.

From 1990 to 1995, Illinois (which has a statue in front of the new Smith Family Football Complex of alum and NFL Hall of Famer Dick Butkus) produced nine All-America selections at linebacker among five players (Derrick Brownlow, Dana Howard, John Holecek, Simeon Rice and Kevin Hardy). In the program’s history, Illinois has produced seven different linebackers that received All-American honors (Charles Boerio in 1951, Butkus in 1963-64, Brownlow in 1990, Howard in 1993-94, Rice in 1994-95, Hardy in 1995 and J Leman in 2007).

In the 1992 season, Illinois had four linebackers (Kevin Hardy, back left; Dana Howard, back middle; Simeon Rice, back right; John Holecek, front middle) on its roster that would eventually all be named as All-America selections / University of Illinois athletics department file photo

However, Moffitt has the genetic background to suggest he could be a major contributor in Lovie Smith’s Illini defense. Moffitt’s father, Ben, was a three-year starter at linebacker for South Florida and was an All-Big East Conference selection in 2007. Ben Moffitt, who was a semifinalist for the 2007 Butkus Award (given to the nation’s best linebacker), totaled 279 tackles as a three-year starter at middle linebacker for a USF program that had back-to-back nine-win seasons in 2006 and 2007.

Trevor Moffitt, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound linebacker, was All-Area Defensive Player of the Year selection following a 2019 season that produced 110 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, 11 sacks and four forced fumbles that led South Sumter High School (Bushnell, Fla.) to a 9-4 overall record and a berth in the Class 4A-Region 2 championship game. Moffitt’s athleticism, which is always highly valued by Lovie Smith from his linebackers (none of which on the Illini roster weigh more than 225 pounds) is seen by his high school track and field experience as he qualified for the individual Florida state championship in the long jump as a sophomore and can boast a 40-inch vertical leap.

“I’m a versatile player yes but they want me at linebacker (because) I fit what they want to do at linebacker,” Trevor Moffitt said. “By my freshman year, I’ll be 215 (pounds) and still running 4.4 (seconds in the 40-yard dash) and Coach Lovie Smith told me the first thing he looks for in linebackers are guys that have incredible vertical and broad jumps.”

Moffitt said during his virtual campus visit with the Illini coaching staff on a Zoom conference call was when Lovie Smith compared the Tampa-area product to linebackers he’s guided in the National Football League.

“Lovie Smith likened me to (NFL Hall of Fame selection) Derrick Brooks and said to me that ‘with your talent, if I don’t get you a shot in the NFL then...something is just not right,” Moffitt said.

And so, all of this begs the question: Why is Trevor Moffitt willing to put these expectations on himself and have this much self-belief? Sports Illustrated All-America, Rivals.com nor 247Sports.com rankings have him rated among the nation’s top 1,000 prospects in the 2021 class. Besides Illinois, Moffitt’s other scholarship offers currently include programs nobody is likely to confuse with national powerhouses like Temple, Florida Atlantic, Connecticut, Colorado State, Army, Navy and Appalachian State.

“On a coaching scouting report that got passed around, I was listed at 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds,” Moffitt said. “I don’t know why or if it just never got updated or what. The Illinois coaches even asked me three months into their offer if I thought I could get bigger and I asked them what they meant. They offered me thinking I was that, 5-11 and 170. I told them, ‘Coach I’m 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds right now’.”

And then the coronavirus health pandemic ended all opportunities for prospects like Moffitt to be invited and attend regional and national camps either put on by recruiting services or on the campus of Power 5 Conference programs.

“My parents really didn’t want me to commit to a school before getting a chance to take official visits and some programs really pressured me during these last few months to commit,” Moffitt said. “Illinois never did that. Coach Lovie Smith said they don’t normally take commitments before they see a player on their campus. But the more you look at it, there’s no guarantees we’re ever going to get those chances (during the COVID-19 epidemic) so I trust the Illinois coaches. They’re not going to steer me wrong.”