Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

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Dan

Dan
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Dan
Welcome to the Illinois Football Recruiting Thread :illinois:

Transfer Portal Window: January 2nd-16th


2026 Transfer Portal Commits

1) DB Lavon Williams (January 4th, 2026)
2) DL Carter Janki (January 4th, 2026)
3) QB Katin Houser (January 4th, 2026)
4) ATH Maurice Smith (January 5th, 2026)
5) C Jake Renfro (January 5th, 2026)
6) OL Christian Martin (January 5th, 2026)
7) WR Jayshon Platt (January 5th, 2026)
8) LS Zach Haber (January 6th, 2026)
9) WR Ty Robinson (January 7th, 2026)
10) Edge William Holmes (January 8th, 2026)
11) WR Alex Perry (January 8th, 2026)


2026 Illini Football Recruiting

Illinois Signs 30 on National Signing Day, Completes Top-Rated Class in Program History (fightingillini.com)


2027 Illini Football Commits

1) QB Kamden Lopati (July 27th, 2025)
 
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Thaillini22
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aaeismacgychel
illinidarrin said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/2008172766739014068
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Booooooooooooo... Sorry, had to get it out of my system. Just sucks. I was amped when we got Olano and Duley to commit. Pretty sad that we won't get to see either don the orange and blue as upperclassmen. State of the game, but sad nonetheless. That said, we've profited mightily with the new system, so the portal giveth and the portal taketh. Still ugh though. At least some B10 team didn't overbid TAMU for him.
 
#16      
BashCtIllini
This just shows how stupid college sports have become. Oh that guy is good, we're just going to buy him.

Coaching is now secondary. The most important determinant of success is how much your program spends. Yes, we know, there was always under the table money, but that was a drop in the ocean to what we're seeing today.

I agree with John Calipari, the biggest problem is the free transfers. You get one transfer and then you sit a year. College athletics are not a professional league. Every off season shouldn't be players saying, ok who's going to pay me the most?
 
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bigcityillini
This is getting a little scary... especially at the DL and LB. I know we will land guys. But guys who can slide into starting spots right away and be solid? Well see, i like the Simpson move if they can get him. Diaz would be nice. Would still need to add another WR though at least. If Bailey leaves, the secondary needs difference makers, not many in that group right now.
Screenshot 2026-01-05 102201.png
 
#23      
BallDon’tLie04
I know it’s still early, but how is everyone feeling about the portal so far?

I’m not going to lie, a small part of me was disappointed when I saw that we got Houser, but after some consideration, I feel like he could be a good bridge guy for us. Like some others, I got sucked into the splashier names like Minchey and Kienholz, but if we really think that Boyd or Lopati are going to be our guy for the future, I guess we don’t need someone with more than a year of eligibility.

But, if we were looking for someone with a few years of eligibility, do you guys think we could have landed one of those two, going up against the likes of Louisville and Nebraska? Are we considered contenders with those types of schools, given the modern landscape of college football? I guess I just don’t really know where we stand nationally when it comes to to NIL and what resources are made available to our football program.
 
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HensonHall71
therealmiket86 said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/2008192741122191844
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We’re going to need a center - not sure TJ is ready for the full time starting role. This guy would bring experience and solid play- he was Purdue’s second rated lineman by PFF (granted not saying much) but held up pretty well against Michigan, ND and some of the top DL they played. Would be a solid addition in my mind to eliminate a question mark at least.

The other JC transfers should fill in the other gaps on the OL nicely
 
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