One thing to think about is with the number of Seniors and certain people who are at other schools, there is more capital to allocate that is for certain. The $15 mm by the way is a 300% jump from 2023. But it just shows you how far behind we are when comparing ourselves to other competitive programs.
If we get Knowles, we will have gotten a player from at least three high schools from my Mount Rushmore of football helmets
I’m worried they have gotten left behind in the last few months all of a sudden in $$$.
If we get Knowles, we will have gotten a player from at least three high schools from my Mount Rushmore of football helmets
Knowles- Southlake Carroll
Kaedyn Cobbs- Denton Guyer
Of course- a few Fisher Bunnies
Just curious, has their been a Massillion OH Tiger that wore this helmet for the Illini?
For one it would be class of 2026 and class of 2027.
You are correct on the class years, my mistake.For one it would be class of 2026 and class of 2027.
We are recruiting Wagner and it looks like he plans to visit, we just don't have a date yet:
4-star OL Cameron Wagner provides recruiting update: Illini, Notre Dame, Oregon, etc. want him
Everybody – i.e. elite college football programs – wants St. Joseph-Ogden’s Cameron Wagner.www.foxillinois.com
Parks just named us in his top-5 a few days ago. So while he might not a firm date scheduled, I'm guessing he will visit.
And we just signed a large, and good, class. I wouldn't be surprised if the strategy were to bring in a smaller class this year, and maybe focus on quality and transfers. Let's keep it in perspective. By composite, Lopati is rated higher than any recruit we brought in in the 2026 class, and Wagner and Parks would be higher than anyone except Hankins. We are going to face competition.
We aren’t favored by Rivals for any of the in-state top 25.
Calm down. It's way to early to worry about recruiting. I have no idea why Illini fans continue to question Bielema. The man is 37-26 in his five years here. Lovie Smith was right to do what he did when it came to Illinois high school recruiting. He saw the bull!!!! hut Bielema is more patient because he has been a college head coach for over 18 years. Why pay a unproven high school player a lot of money when that recruit hasn't performed on the college level. Indiana was successful these last 2 years because of the portal and they had the oldest team in college football. I would love for somebody to research the top Illinois high school players that Bielema missed out on these last 5 years and give us their status so far in college and I guarantee most of them have been BUSTS and don't play a significant role on their college team. That is why Illinois has hit Florida, Texas, New Jersey and Ohio hard.
