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Despite Illinois grading out as one of the worst […]

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

September 18, 2026

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois will look to bounce back Saturday when the Fighting Illini host Southern Illinois at Gies Memorial Stadium, and the game will also provide Bret Bielema and his staff with another opportunity to showcase the program to a group of high school football recruits expected to be on campus.

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

September 18, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Zeno Jo/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN – Three months after committing to Illinois, Class of 2027 tight end Cade Newman got his first look back at Champaign-Urbana and left more convinced than ever.

The Ankeny (Iowa) Centennial tight end made the trip a day after his team picked up a big win in conference play: a 45-7 win over conference foe Des Moines Lincoln. He finished with six catches and 74 yards, but didn't have much time to celebrate, as there was a five-hour drive to Champaign the very next morning to watch the Illini play Duke.

The visit was just Newman's second time ever stepping foot on campus, but it reinforced everything that led him to commit in the first place.

"It's been awesome," Newman said of the visit. "The people are awesome, the coaching staff and everyone, all the commits that I've met already. It's awesome, I'm super grateful."

Newman said he's counting down the days until he'll be on campus in January as an early enrollee, not just because of what head coach Bret Bielema has built, but also because of new tight ends coach Jared Elliott.

"So it was a great opportunity and I'm super glad I took it because this is where home is," he added.

September 18, 2026 The Illini face an SIU team […]

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

September 18, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Kedric Prince/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Ryan Paulsen made the trip from the Quad Cities area with his parents, Carrie and Jeff, to watch his future Illinois teammates take on Duke, last year’s ACC football champion.

For the Central DeWitt High School prospect from Iowa, the visit represented another opportunity to spend time around a program he already knows will be his college home.

Paulsen, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound edge rusher, is set to join Illinois’ 2027 recruiting class. His recruitment is somewhat unique because he comes from Iowa, a state where in-state recruiting battles are typically dominated by Iowa and Iowa State.

That wasn’t the case for Paulsen.

Since committing to Illinois early this summer, Paulsen has remained firm in his decision. Saturday’s trip to Champaign was also his first visit since his official visit.

“Since I committed early this summer, this is the first time other than my official visit,” Paulsen said.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

September 17, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Kedric Prince/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — If you watched either of Illinois’ first two games of the season, it is a safe bet the Illini will continue trying to land some of the best available talent on the defensive side of the football.

Illinois needs speed, playmakers and prospects capable of developing into immediate impact players. One of the program’s early priorities in the 2028 recruiting class appears to fit that description.

Eliaz Egbe, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound linebacker from Palatine, Illinois, is a four-star recruit according to 247Sports and is ranked as the state’s #10 overall prospect in the 2028 class. Egbe recently returned to Champaign for another visit with the Illini.

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

September 17, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Zeno Jo/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN – "This is where I was meant to play."

That's how Sean Rice, a 2027 linebacker commit to Illinois, describes his move from edge to linebacker, a shift that's reshaped both his body and his path to Champaign. Rice was in town for Illinois Football’s week 2 game against Duke and caught up with IlliniGuys’ Zeno Jo.

When IlliniGuys first spoke with Rice, he was fairly new in the transition to linebacker. Now, he’s an Illinois commit who is building his body closer to that of a D1 linebacker. Rice says Illinois is a program he committed to with a clear plan already in motion: get bigger, get faster, and lock in at a position he believes suits him more naturally than the one he played for most of his high school career.

"I think that I would have found a way to make it happen," Rice said, reflecting on what his path might have looked like had he stayed at edge. "My work ethic speaks for itself. If I had stayed at edge, I would have found a way to keep working and hopefully make something happen. But at linebacker, it just feels so much more natural. This is where I was meant to play."

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

September 16, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy QB Hit List)

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema got some good news on the recruiting front Wednesday evening, getting a commitment from quarterback Owen Herrick.

Herrick chose the Fighting Illini over Arkansas, Minnesota, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Syracuse, Toledo and Bowling Green.

The commitment is an important early addition for Illinois, as Herrick becomes the first commitment in the Illini's 2028 recruiting class.

(From Illinois Sports Information Office) Champaign, ILL. – The Big […]

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

September 16, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy USA Basketball)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Starting Friday night, the Illinois men's basketball program will welcome some of the nation's elite basketball recruits to Champaign. Each of the four prospects expected on campus has the potential to become a major piece of the Illini's future.

Among them will be Darius Wabbington, a 6-foot-10, 225-pound 2027 center from Sunnyslope High School in Phoenix.

IlliniGuys recently caught up with Wabbington ahead of his trip to Illinois, and one thing quickly became apparent:

(From Illinois Sports Information Office) CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The fifth […]

The defensive scheme change may transform the diverse athlete pool the Illinois defensive coaches and personnel staffers could identify in the future.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

September 15, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN — Don’t be surprised if Bret Bielema, Illinois defensive assistant coaches or defensive player personnel staffers are at a high school recruiting the quarterback, running back or wide receiver.

The vibe and recurrent attitude inside the Smith Center following the transition to the 3-3-5 defensive scheme is the recruiting search has shifted a bit more toward finding the best athletes and transforming them once they get on campus toward a position group at the collegiate level.

Yes, Illinois is still likely to offer and pay attention to the highest ranked players in a specific position group within a high school recruiting class. However, as Bielema begins his sixth season as the Illini head coach, the consistent mentality of “under-recruited, undersized and overdevelop” takes even more meaning in Champaign-Urbana with a defensive scheme based on trying to get 11 athletes on the field with lesser regard to body type and measurables at the high school level.

As Illinois took on defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion Duke at Gies Memorial Stadium Saturday, the trio of starting linebackers were: Mason Muragin (6-foot-4, 250 pounds), James Kreutz (6-foot-2, 240 pounds) and Ismael Kante (6-foot-2, 240 pounds) with Colorado State transfer Robert Edmondson (6-foot-2, 240 pounds), second-year player Grant Beerman (6-foot-5, 240 pounds) and freshman Jack Paris (6-foot-2, 225 pounds) getting defensive snaps off the bench. While all of these players have similar playing weights, they have vastly different speeds, arm length/wingspan and displacement of how that weight is distributed.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

September 15, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy USA Basketball)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Football may be in the air in September, but the hardwood is about to command plenty of attention in Champaign.

College basketball practice officially begins Sept. 29, and expectations are high for the Fighting Illini men's basketball program. Illinois is expected to boast one of the nation's top teams this season, but while the current Illini prepare for another run, head coach Brad Underwood and his staff continue to focus on the future.

This weekend, some of the brightest young stars in college basketball recruiting will be shining in Champaign.

Illinois is expected to have four of the nation's elite basketball prospects on campus, according to ESPN, giving the Illini an opportunity to make an impression on a collection of highly regarded recruits from the 2027 class.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

September 15, 2026

Welcome to the second trench report of the year. I know Illini nation is feeling a bit down right now after the 31-27 loss to Duke on Saturday. Illinois was a 6-point favorite and was ready for a statement win in front of a full house. However, after a second watch, I came away with the impression that the Illini coaching staff dropped the ball on Saturday. I wouldn't call it a coaching fail because Barry Lunney created several open throws early in the game and Bobby Hauck's defense really shut down star running back Nate Sheppard in the second half, but at the same time the loss on Saturday falls on the X's and O's rather than the players.

I'm going to start with the first complete pass to a tight end this season! Look how easy that can be! Illinois lines up two tight ends on the left side, and when the Duke safety flinches a bit toward Feagin while watching Houser's eyes, that leaves Stoffel wide open. A tip of the hat to the offensive line here as well. Passing gets a lot easier when you have time to look all the way from the right to the left and then back to the center without so much as a hand in your face, and the truth is Houser could have waited even longer if he wanted.

I saw some comments criticizing Houser's passing accuracy early in this game, so I thought it was important to break out this play to show the readers how this is a perfect throw that is exactly where Houser intended it to be.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

September 15, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Kedric Prince/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — For some potential football recruits who made the trip to Champaign, Saturday was an opportunity to see future teammates. For others, it was a chance to soak in the game day environment for the first time.

For Braden Gibson, however, the visit was all business.

Gibson arrived in Champaign with a purpose. He took the visit seriously, knowing every opportunity to get in front of the Illinois coaching staff matters at this stage of his recruitment. While enjoying the game day atmosphere was part of the experience, Gibson also hoped the trip could help move his recruitment forward and potentially lead to something more with the Illini.

Gibson knows he possesses the type of athletic ability Illinois is looking for. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound safety from El Paso, Illinois, is hoping to become a significant late addition to the Illini’s 2027 recruiting class.

Speed is one attribute that immediately stands out with Gibson.