Uhhh Rankin is the number 1 player in the state and top 80(on 247) top 270 composite in the nation…
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Illinois Football Recruiting Thread
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illinidarrin
- from parts unknown
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
I'm not in the know, but according to 247 composite, Rankin is 273 and Thomas is 262. Clayton is 430, Alston is 555, and Grant is 590. The highest players we had in prior classes are:
2025 - Trimble/Beerman tied at 446
2024 - Valentine 407
2023 - Elzy 207
2022 - Laughery 650
Needless to say, we've come a long way.
Krombopulos_Michael
- Aurora, Illinois (that’s a suburb of Chicago)
I want Thad's sweatshirt
Tried to tell y’all yesterday … Best is yet to come !!!
More than a good spot …
Should’ve included Thomas in my list yesterday on my post but he’s been silently committed for so long I honestly forgot he wasn’t official …
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
it looks like Dre Brown is a home run of a player personnel director. great call by BB to bring him back.
ya, well, we're Illinois and we don't win those battles. Holy Cow!!
madillini4
Ozamataz Buckshank
- Millywaukee
One thing is for certain, this staff will not be out worked by anyone. It’s actually incredible to watch.
Way to go so far out on the limb with that obvious statement. Dam you’re amazing lol
Like you’re the only one who thinks we’ll obviously get more recruits? Thats a basic statement knowing more recruits are comin. You’re no expert! That’s obvious just like you state the obvious.
Here’s one for ya, the Illini are gonna surprise some people!!!
I tried to tell you.
Like you’re the only one who thinks we’ll obviously get more recruits? Thats a basic statement knowing more recruits are comin. You’re no expert! That’s obvious just like you state the obvious.
Here’s one for ya, the Illini are gonna surprise some people!!!
I tried to tell you.
Exactly right. Coach is something else.
I know right? I forgot to post that also. I’ve know about all of them long ago but couldn’t release that info. I’ll try to keep you updated but understand I can’t give up my position in the works. You’ll be ok
GrayGhost77
- Centennial, CO
Illinois football stock
illinidarrin
- from parts unknown
Great move to bring Dre back! He played his heart out for this program, he’s from Dekalb, and he came back from multiple injuries to play for some not so good teams. Always felt like he bled O&B. Gaining some experience at Tennessee and ND had to really help in his growth too.
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
I like this kid a lot
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
I'm kinda stunned by the level of interest we're garnering from VG or better players. I think the question about whether we'd be able to parlay our excellent season into improved recruiting looks almost laughable.
mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
Let's ignore the recruiting ranking funny business for a second and reflect on the 2025 B1G class rankings.
Illinois finished 12th (out of 18) in recruiting ranking and had two 4-stars (Trimble and Beerman). Seeing the pending recruiting wave upcoming for Illinois, it's obvious that this class is going to elevate above previous years, but how much can they realistically rise? Let's do a breakdown. The 2025 class has six (!) teams who secured 10+ 4-star recruits:
Ohio State (19)
Penn State (19)
Oregon (17)
Michigan (14)
USC (12)
Nebraska (11)
Looking at the 2024 class and it's a slightly different list (swap in Wisconsin for Nebraska), but the same threshold. Therefore, to break into the top 1/3 of the conference requires 10+ 4-star recruits. Is that feasible in the 2026 class? That seems like a really tall task. Assuming everything goes Illinois' way this cycle, with two current commits bumped up to 4*, then they get Rankin, Thomas, Blade, Anderson, Sutter, Alexander, and Pritchard, and then win the lottery and get Singleton, that would put them at 10. That's almost a clean sweep of every top target. I'm hopeful like all of you but that seems improbable, and maybe more of a very aggressive goal for 2027 if the '26 season goes swimmingly. So let's dive into the next tier of B1G teams based on the '25 rankings:
Washington (8)
Wisconsin (8)
Maryland (5)
Iowa (5)
Rutgers (4)
This seems realistic, especially the bottom three teams. In fact, I'll go further and say falling below the 4-5 4-star threshold this year would be a disappointment (and a cold realization that the climb up the mountain is steep). Now catching Wisconsin or Washington's 8 is a good, possibly too aggressive goal. Putting it into context - (a) get one of the current commits to bump up to 4-star (1) + Thomas (2) + Rankin (3) + Anderson (4) + Alexander (5) + Tilson (6) + Gebhardt (7) + Riordan (8). That would be a reallllllly good haul, but also requires some luck with landing all of these guys and a few of them getting bumped up (Alexander, Gebhardt, Tilson, and Riordan). All that said, the arbitrary cut-off between 4-star and high 3-star is a silly cutoff to assess, and I'm a "follow the offers and visits" guy to the end, but this is still an important talent barometer to follow as the spring and summer march on.
Illinois finished 12th (out of 18) in recruiting ranking and had two 4-stars (Trimble and Beerman). Seeing the pending recruiting wave upcoming for Illinois, it's obvious that this class is going to elevate above previous years, but how much can they realistically rise? Let's do a breakdown. The 2025 class has six (!) teams who secured 10+ 4-star recruits:
Ohio State (19)
Penn State (19)
Oregon (17)
Michigan (14)
USC (12)
Nebraska (11)
Looking at the 2024 class and it's a slightly different list (swap in Wisconsin for Nebraska), but the same threshold. Therefore, to break into the top 1/3 of the conference requires 10+ 4-star recruits. Is that feasible in the 2026 class? That seems like a really tall task. Assuming everything goes Illinois' way this cycle, with two current commits bumped up to 4*, then they get Rankin, Thomas, Blade, Anderson, Sutter, Alexander, and Pritchard, and then win the lottery and get Singleton, that would put them at 10. That's almost a clean sweep of every top target. I'm hopeful like all of you but that seems improbable, and maybe more of a very aggressive goal for 2027 if the '26 season goes swimmingly. So let's dive into the next tier of B1G teams based on the '25 rankings:
Washington (8)
Wisconsin (8)
Maryland (5)
Iowa (5)
Rutgers (4)
This seems realistic, especially the bottom three teams. In fact, I'll go further and say falling below the 4-5 4-star threshold this year would be a disappointment (and a cold realization that the climb up the mountain is steep). Now catching Wisconsin or Washington's 8 is a good, possibly too aggressive goal. Putting it into context - (a) get one of the current commits to bump up to 4-star (1) + Thomas (2) + Rankin (3) + Anderson (4) + Alexander (5) + Tilson (6) + Gebhardt (7) + Riordan (8). That would be a reallllllly good haul, but also requires some luck with landing all of these guys and a few of them getting bumped up (Alexander, Gebhardt, Tilson, and Riordan). All that said, the arbitrary cut-off between 4-star and high 3-star is a silly cutoff to assess, and I'm a "follow the offers and visits" guy to the end, but this is still an important talent barometer to follow as the spring and summer march on.
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