looks like mchaney cancelled his illinois visit.
Illinois Football Recruiting Thread
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YupI’ll just leave this here …
JC Anderson, LSU Tigers, Tight End
Two-time All-state selection in football. Also played varsity basketball since his freshman season. Caught 47 passes for 535 yards and seven touchdowns as a...247sports.com
Mack Sutter, Alabama Crimson Tide, Tight End
Also plays basketball. ----- FOOTBALL 2024: Finished 10-game junior campaign with 35 receptions for 505 yards and 7 TDs on 14.4 yards per catch. Completed 6...
Champ Smith, Illinois Fighting Illini, Offensive Tackle
2025: Participated in the Under Armour All-America Game where he got snaps at RT. 2024: Two-way player as a junior for Vero Beach, which made regional finals...
Jaylen Stewart, Pearland , Edge
Also competes in track and field. ----- TRACK & FIELD - Recorded a 38-4.5 shot put throw as a sophomore, per MileSplit. - High jumped 5-2 and posted a 40-6...
AJ Marks, Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Cornerback
Multi-sport athlete. –––– TRACK -Placed 5th in the 60-meter dash at New Balance Nationals Indoor as a 9th grader. –––– FOOTBALL 2025: Finished senior...
Owen Fors, Barrington , Offensive Line
Owen Fors is an Offensive Lineman from Barrington, IL.
Nelsyn Wheeler, Illinois Fighting Illini, Running Back
Also runs track. ----- TRACK Finished sixth in the Nebraska Class A state finals in the 100 meters and 200 meters as a sophomore. Ran season-best times of...
Micah Smith, Mack Sutter, JC Anderson, Nasir Rankin all consensus top 200 prospects... Smith on ESPN #47, Sutter on Rivals #71, Rankin #85 on 247, Anderson #130 on Rivals (of course taking the highest for each).
The guys Illinois is landing and/or quite possibly leading for is just at another level right now.
The guys Illinois is landing and/or quite possibly leading for is just at another level right now.
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micah smith hasn't visited osu?
No Nick Hankins or Tucker Ashford?I’ll just leave this here …
JC Anderson, LSU Tigers, Tight End
Two-time All-state selection in football. Also played varsity basketball since his freshman season. Caught 47 passes for 535 yards and seven touchdowns as a...
Mack Sutter, Alabama Crimson Tide, Tight End
Also plays basketball. ----- FOOTBALL 2024: Finished 10-game junior campaign with 35 receptions for 505 yards and 7 TDs on 14.4 yards per catch. Completed 6...
Champ Smith, Illinois Fighting Illini, Offensive Tackle
2025: Participated in the Under Armour All-America Game where he got snaps at RT. 2024: Two-way player as a junior for Vero Beach, which made regional finals...
Jaylen Stewart, Pearland , Edge
Also competes in track and field. ----- TRACK & FIELD - Recorded a 38-4.5 shot put throw as a sophomore, per MileSplit. - High jumped 5-2 and posted a 40-6...
AJ Marks, Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Cornerback
Multi-sport athlete. –––– TRACK -Placed 5th in the 60-meter dash at New Balance Nationals Indoor as a 9th grader. –––– FOOTBALL 2025: Finished senior...
Owen Fors, Barrington , Offensive Line
Owen Fors is an Offensive Lineman from Barrington, IL.
Nelsyn Wheeler, Illinois Fighting Illini, Running Back
Also runs track. ----- TRACK Finished sixth in the Nebraska Class A state finals in the 100 meters and 200 meters as a sophomore. Ran season-best times of...
May or may not have visited unofficially but in terms of official visits in this year's cycle... Illinois, South Carolina, UCLA (as of today).
Champ Smith, Illinois Fighting Illini, Offensive Tackle
2025: Participated in the Under Armour All-America Game where he got snaps at RT. 2024: Two-way player as a junior for Vero Beach, which made regional finals...
247sports.com
Would be fun to beat out Beamer for this one 
^^^
^^^
And to the late great George Wendt!!!
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
And he can honestly say, "After the fall of 2025, I can offer minutes to just about anyone who works his way onto the field. We're reloading."
Would be just as pleased with Stewart...
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
never let facts get in the way of a great story
pruman91
- interviewing new NL's daily....I really really am
pruman91
- interviewing new NL's daily....I really really am
pruman91
- interviewing new NL's daily....I really really am
did my wake & bake and feeling kinda funky..................................
ALL HAIL BB and STAFF......................................gonna listen to Funkytown now...........just seems appropriate....
it really really does................
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OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
Right with you. I just wish kids would make their announcement instead of making it into a big social media moment. But I guess I'll go yell at the kids to get off my lawn now.
Just hope this kid has a better career than that one basketball guy who pulled a hat stunt involving Illinois and now plays in that remote basketball outpost of Venezuela . . .
Just hope this kid has a better career than that one basketball guy who pulled a hat stunt involving Illinois and now plays in that remote basketball outpost of Venezuela . . .
DevILLDawg
- Meredosia, Illinois
Any insiders tell us if Brad called in a favor to get Ayo there or was his appearance completely organic? Either way, I love it
While I agree with the prospects mentioned above as great potential gets for the Illini, I think we need to seek out that devastating fullback blocker in the mold of Jay Prosch who used to blow holes for our running backs a dozen or so years ago. Not to change our offense, just to compliment it.
SampsonRelpenk
- Edwardsville, IL
As a latter year millennial I'm like "finally an Illini Chris Gamble!"
What Bret is doing is just beyond mind-blowing. We needed a miracle to turn this program around and even then the stars would need to align and get a few breaks for it to be sustainable. And yet, all Bret and Whitman seem to do is deliver miracles. This is one of the greatest turnarounds I've ever seen in sports when one factors in the rock bottom depths we were at during the Beckman tenure.
I mean, even floating around the possibility of making the CFP this season and having sustainable success, is pretty much of par with telling me during most of my childhood that the Cubs would win the Series in my lifetime or telling me during the Dollar Bill Wirtz Blackhawks era that the Blackhawks would become a dynasty once his son takes over. It's just crazy to think about. Top 200 kids wanting to come here and play for us? Beating SEC teams in high end bowl games? Having a Top 10 preseason team? Beating Michigan? And this possibly becoming an annual thing? This is wildest dreams territory. So unreal you know it can't happen. And yet...
Just one of the most incredible things I've ever seen. And I'm here for it. What an unbelievable job Bret and Whitman have done.
I mean, even floating around the possibility of making the CFP this season and having sustainable success, is pretty much of par with telling me during most of my childhood that the Cubs would win the Series in my lifetime or telling me during the Dollar Bill Wirtz Blackhawks era that the Blackhawks would become a dynasty once his son takes over. It's just crazy to think about. Top 200 kids wanting to come here and play for us? Beating SEC teams in high end bowl games? Having a Top 10 preseason team? Beating Michigan? And this possibly becoming an annual thing? This is wildest dreams territory. So unreal you know it can't happen. And yet...
Just one of the most incredible things I've ever seen. And I'm here for it. What an unbelievable job Bret and Whitman have done.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
I'm with you, tho' I gotta say that what Hayden did at Iowa '79-'81 and Barry did at Wisconsin in the early '90s surpasses it. If you had told me in the summer of 1990 when I left campus that Wisconsin would play in a Rose Bowl within the next 20 years, let alone one in 3-1/2 years, I would have bet my life savings against it. Well, you know, if I had any "life savings." And Fry performed an absolute miracle in IC in only three seasons. I saw Iowa play through the '70s as a kid. They sucked until he showed up.
Top Big Ten football turnarounds of my lifetime (am omitting Indiana until I'm confident that Cignetti can sustain last season's success, and what MW did for us in 1980-83 b/c it was tainted):
1. Hayden Fry (Iowa) 1979-81
2. Wisconsin (Alvarez) 1990-3
3. BB (Illinois) 2021-4
Can't think of any that rank above or among these. Barnett at NW didn't stick, either. As others have noted, BB has done it and done it the right way.
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