Dec. 17--Sam Brodner had reservations about Vanderbilt since his official visit to the school in October, only he kept them to himself.
Illinois is now in the running for the Glenbard West running back and Chicago Tribune Player of the Year in 2015 after Brodner informed Vanderbilt he is returning to the recruiting market.
"I just want to take another look at other schools and see what my options are," said Brodner, who rushed for 1,917 yards and scored 47 touchdowns in leading Glenbard West to a 14-0 record and the Class 7A title.
"I went to visit and I didn't think (Vanderbilt) was the place for me anymore. I didn't want to think about it or analyze it until after the season."
Brodner said he plans to take official visits to Illinois and Syracuse, and possibly Iowa, in January.
Illinois was the only major-conference program to offer at the time of his verbal commitment to Vanderbilt in June. Brodner said last week that current Illinois head coach and then-offensive coordinator Bill Cubit was more involved in his recruitment than ex-coach Tim Beckman.
Mike Helfgot is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune
