Chicago (Ill.) Phillips senior three-star ranked wide receiver recruit Fabian McCray (6-foot-2, 180 pounds) decided to give the University of Illinois his verbal commitment.
"I just felt like I was ready so I committed (to Illinois)," McCray said. "I just know that Illinois is where I want to be."
McCray, who also looked hard at Minnesota, discussed why he decided upon the in-state Fighting Illini.
"I just felt that Illinois was the right place for me," he said. "I've built up a solid relationship with the coaches and the players at Illinois. I feel that Illinois overall is the best place for me and the place where I want to be."
McCray is now the eighth known verbal commitment in the Fighting Illini's Class of 2019. McCray is also the fourth known in-state pledge joining his Phillips teammate senior DB Joseph Thompson, Montini Catholic senior RB Nick Fedanzo plus Bloomington senior tight end Griffin Moore.
West Aurora junior four-star ranked defensive tackle Denver Warren (6-foot-3, 300 pounds) decided to give the Michigan Wolverines his verbal commitment after making a recent unofficial campus visit in Ann Arbor.
"Michigan just felt like home to me," Warren said. "Both my mom and I really felt at home when we visited Michigan. Michigan is a place where I can go in and work hard and get a great education and a great college experience."
Warren, who was holding nearly 20 scholarship offers this summer, won't be able to sign a Letter of Intent until December of 2019 at the earliest. So why commit so early?
"People talk all the time about when I know I've found the right school that I would know it," he said. "I definitely know it and feel it and I just wanted to make my decision. Michigan just feels like the right place for me and it's the best overall fit for me. Why wait to make a decision when I already know I want to go to Michigan."
Bolingbrook senior three-star ranked running back recruit Anthony Williams Jr. (6-foot-0, 195 pounds) gave Michigan State his verbal commitment earlier this week.
"I'm really excited about my commitment," Williams Jr. said. "I've liked Michigan State for a long time now. It just feels good to make it public and I'm very happy to commit to Michigan State."
Williams Jr., who also looked hard at Boston College, pointed towards the overall fit for him on and off the field at Michigan State as a big factor in his decision.
"I really like the Michigan State offense and I just feel that I can be a really good fit in that offense. I also get along great with the coaches at Michigan State and they also have a great tradition. Michigan State also has great facilities and I also liked the campus quite a bit. I just feel like I can succeed at Michigan State on and off the field. It's a great fit for me."
It didn't take Chicago (IL) Simeon senior two-star ranked athlete recruit Alante Brown (5-foot-10, 170 pounds) very long to accept his latest scholarship offer and commit to Michigan State.
"Michigan State has always been my dream school since I was a little kid," Brown said. "I was actually born in East Lansing and I moved away from Michigan when I was like three days old. Once Michigan State offered me I knew what I wanted to commit to Green and White."
Brown, recruited by the Spartans as a wide receiver, was originally committed to Miami of Ohio but was asked to decommit from the Redhawks when Brown decided to attend a few nearby college satellite camps.
"I wasn't too worried when Miami of Ohio asked me to decommit because I knew that I had a few good camps and I was able to add some really good offers right away from schools like Missouri, Minnesota and eventually Michigan State."