Colt Pettit is off to a great start to his recruitment, and the Hamler (OH) Patrick Henry offensive lineman now holds eight offers.
Pettit, 6-foot-4, 245-pounds, is a versatile lineman, and a player that could project to either side of the football. Illinois became his eighth offer this week.
"I was offered by Illinois this week and I'm very excited about it," Pettit stated. "They have been talking to me for a while, and this week I got the offer. They have a great group of coaches, and they are from my area, so I know them really well. They recruited my brother before, so we knew each other really well."
"I really want to get over there for a visit, and I'm thinking about going there this Saturday, but I need to check with my dad about that," he added. "My dad spoke with Coach (Mike) Ward today, and we are hoping to make that happen. I've never been there before, but I'm definitely interested in Illinois for sure."
Pettit also has several other schools showing interest in addition to holding eight offers, including Purdue and Indiana.
"I'm definitely going to visit Indiana upcoming, and I'm going to Notre Dame in October," Pettit said. "The Notre Dame coaches are great and we've had a lot of contact since I was there last summer. West Virginia has been sending me hand-written letters every day. Stanford has told me they will offer if I will visit in person. Coach (Charlie) Strong of Louisville talks to me on Facebook pretty often, and they seem interested."
Although Pettit was not healthy to begin the year, he is now back at full strength and playing well.
"My play this year hasn't been what I wanted, to be honest," he explained. "The first two weeks I was sick, and it's only been in the past week I've been myself. I played both ways and I'm getting my explosion back."