Good question. What, in the NIL area, would the Illini program offer that our competitors formerly attracting IL recruits don't? It seems to me that the NIL sitch among Power Conference schools doesn't afford anyone a competitive advantage. It seems akin to a transparent technological advancement that isn't patent-protected: all competitors avail themselves of it and, while consumers benefit from a better or more-efficiently fabricated product, none of the producers are able to earn marginal rents at their competitors' expense.
And please accept my humble apologies for offering a post actually related to recruiting.