Still just a junior, East St. Louis’ Raheem Floyd is generating D-I buzz
Raheem Floyd is 16 years old and already has 19 full-ride offers from Division 1 football colleges.
Of the 19, half a dozen are on his short list, but that list is likely to change in the coming year. The East St. Louis cornerback has yet to receive offers from a few schools on his wish list, which include the likes of Oregon, LSU and Georgia.
For now, though, here are the lucky six that have received roses after the first round of their romancing of the 6-foot-2, 178-pound junior.
“I’ve got Indiana, Arizona State, Wisconsin, Ole Miss, Illinois, and Mizzou,” said Floyd, who added there are probably a few more he might consider.
Again, though, Floyd anticipates more suitors. While the buzz around the Flyers’ underclassman already is significant, he’ll get national exposure Jan. 2 at the Under Armour Next All-America game in Deland, Florida, which will be broadcast on ESPN2, a game featuring 80 of the country’s top-ranked underclassmen players.
The trend in big-time college football is to try to lock down commitments as early as possible, so Floyd isn’t the only high school junior to already have a stack of D-1 offers. But it’s possible the native of Paducah, Kentucky could become one of the most heavily recruited Illinois football players in recent memory.
ESPN has Floyd fourth on its list of the top 10 players in Illinois. He is ranked No. 91 among all players nationally for the class of 2027. He’s ranked 10th in the nation among all cornerbacks. Again, he’s only a junior.
“But I’m staying level-headed. I’ve just got to be patient, until my time comes. I don’t want to rush anything,” Floyd said. “But (the attention) is definitely great. I can walk downtown and there’s kids just coming up to me and asking to take pictures. So, it feels great that there’s already some buzz in the city. It’s great to have this feeling of kids looking up to you and stuff like that.”
Floyd describes himself as a “cover” cornerback, not as much of a huge hitter.
“But if I have to hit, I want it to be hard,” he said.
Floyd’s sophomore season for the defending Class 6A state champion Flyers included five interceptions, 48 solo tackles and 14 pass breakups. Other cornerbacks might have more interceptions or tackles, but that’s because opposing quarterbacks won’t throw in Floyd’s direction very often. He’s fast and has a long wingspan with his 6-2 frame.
Floyd lived in Missouri before moving to Illinois to play for the Flyers under longtime coach Darren Sunkett. The Flyers are ranked 31st in MaxPreps’ list of the top high school football teams in the nation, and coming off a dominant season that culminated in a 48-28 victory over Geneva in the state championship at Normal last December. The title was the school’s 11th overall and fifth under Sunkett.
“Coach Sunk and (defensive coordinator Brandon Gregory), they get all the credit for this. They just put me in situations to be great. Even when I didn’t think I could, they put me in positions to be great ever since I was a freshman,” Floyd said.
Floyd gives the lion’s share of the credit for his upbringing to his mother, Daquiti, who “took me to school every day and put me in this position.” He has a 3.0 grade-point average.
Floyd has a friendly, courteous demeanor, saying “yes sir” a lot to questions, with something of a self-deprecating air in lighter moments. This is a youngster, however, who does not lack self-confidence.
“I’ve always thought it was going to happen,” Floyd says when asked if he expected this much attention so soon in his high school career. “After my freshman year, I knew I had to step it up, and after my sophomore year is really when the buzz came. But I definitely always knew it was going to happen, for sure.”
Nor is Floyd shy about proclaiming what kind of season it will be again for the Flyers, who begin their nine-game regular-season schedule Aug. 28 against Bergen Catholic at home.
“We’re going to go 14-0 this year. This team is going to be great,” Floyd said. “We’re ready for it. We’ve got a tougher schedule, and it’s definitely going to be great competition. But it’s pretty much going to be the same results.”
This story was originally published July 29, 2025 at 8:51 AM.
