College Football Recruiting: QB Reilly O'Toole Will Make Difference for Illinois

Wheaton Warrenville South senior quarterback Reilly O’Toole has been nothing but astounding the last two seasons playing 7A football in northern Illinois.

He has been doing so well that Illinois promptly snagged the three-star Rivals.com prospect even though other programs, including Northwestern, were heavily pursuing him.

The 6’4”, 215-pound O’Toole has 4,653 passing yards, 63 touchdowns and only four interceptions at the varsity level. He has led the Tigers to a 23-1 record and the 2009 7A state title.

For 2010, Wheaton South is No. 8 nationally and is on the road to repeat as state champions, with O’Toole being a large part of the Tigers’ success.

His 2,534 yards, 39 touchdowns and only one pick have O’Toole on tops for the ESPNChicago.com Player of the Year award where he is competing against Colorado State recruit Kapri Bibbs, among others.

O’Toole has led the Tigers in three dominant playoff performances, including defeating a defensively tough Glenbard West team 40-20 Saturday to advance to the state semifinals.

During the game, O’Toole was 15-for-20, passing for 239 yards and two touchdowns. He also added two rushing scores.

Illinois was the winner in the O’Toole sweepstakes, as Akron, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern and Kansas also recruited him. Northwestern in particular was very aggressive.

This summer O’Toole picked Illinois. He was recruited because he is has the intangibles of a pro-style quarterback and Illinois now runs a pro-system under offensive coordinator Paul Petrino.

O’Toole said the Illini’s offensive style was significant in his decision.

Fitting Illinois’ system so well combined with immense talent, O’Toole could challenge freshman Nathan Scheelhaase for the starting job in 2011.

O’Toole has proven his abilities on the national level by competing in the Elite 11 Quarterbacks Camp at Ohio State April 30. Competing against 85 signal callers, O’Toole received the Golden Gun Award for being the most accurate passer.

Before being recruited by Illinois, O’Toole was considering playing collegiate basketball. He is a point guard on Wheaton South, won all-conference honors as a sophomore, and competed on an AAU team.