Guilford’s Messiah Tilson gets offer from the Fighting Illini

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO/WQRF) — College football programs have been showing a lot of interest in Guilford junior receiver/safety Messiah Tilson. Northern Illinois University and Western Michigan are a couple of them who have been recruiting him from the Mid-American Conference.

Now a Big Ten school has joined the list. Tilson indicated on his X account @mini_sago11 Thursday that he has received his first offer from a Big Ten program from the University of Illinois. Tilson says the offer came after he had a conversation with Illini Football Director of Player Personnel Dre Brown. Brown is a former Illini running back. He is also a graduate of DeKalb High School.

Tilson’s speed is rare. He was the NIC-10 champion in the 100m dash and the 200m dash last spring as a sophomore. Over the summer he qualified for the AAU Track & Field Junior Nationals in that event. He finished in sixth place.

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