Illinois Still Battling Around the Beltway

Mike Locksley has moved from Illinois to New Mexico State and Ron Zook failed in his bid to snag Larry Johnson from Penn State, but don't count the Fighting Illini out when it comes to recruiting the Washington area.

Colleague Preston Williams passes along the news that South County Coach Pete Bendorf said today that the Illini have offered free safety Andre Simmons, a 6-0, 193-pound junior.

Kurt Beathard, the assistant coach recruiting Simmons, played at Oakton when Bendorf (who later coached at Oakton) was playing at Marshall High.

Simmons, who boasts a 3.7 GPA and takes honors classes, is headed to Virginia this weekend and also visited Pitt for junior day.

"He's a very aggressive kid, very physical tackler," Bendorf said. "I think he could play closer to the football, too, at strong safety or outside linebacker. He's garnering a lot of interest."

Meantime, Virginia Tech has offered a different South County defensive back -- sophomore Ronny Vandyke, a 6-3, 185-pounder.

South County, which opened in 2005, has not had a Division I football signee.