Football

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

June 17, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Shaw Local)

The second of Illinois' weekend Iowa State thievery trio flipped his commitment from Iowa State to Illinois on June 7. Gavin Ericson-Staton from Lombard Montini, an offensive lineman who played every position but primarily settled in at right tackle for the state champions, committed to the Illini the day after he returned home from his weekend visit to the Illini. Ericson-Staton had committed to the Cyclones on his visit the week before, yet still took a visit to Illinois the next weekend to check out the Orange and Blue and flipped his commitment when the ink was still wet (so to speak). In Ericson-Staton, the Illini got a lineman whose movement skills are excellent and who already shows a high skill level in several ways.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

As I mentioned above, Ericson-Staton is an athlete. He changes direction and pulls and traps at an elite level. His hands and feet are excellent as well and serve him very well as a pass blocker.

New Illinois running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley wins the recruiting battle for Alexis, a 6-foot and 200-pound tailback from Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg, Fla.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

June 16, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Max Preps)

In a stealth move for its 2027 signing class, Illinois new running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley made his first recruiting move in the form of a commitment flip for the tailback prospect he wanted the most. 

Three-star 200-pound tailback Steven Alexis, from Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg, Fla., announced his intention to change his verbal pledge from Colorado to Illinois after Wheatley and the Illini player personnel staff were able to get Alexis to Champaign-Urbana for a campus visit this past weekend. 

Alexis, who finished his junior season with a less-talented Class 3A Florida high school program in 2025 with 1,113 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns with nine yards per attempt, made a verbal commitment days after returning from his official visit to Colorado in the first weekend of this month. However,

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

June 16, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Prep Redzone)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois continues to build momentum on the recruiting trail, and the Fighting Illini added another key piece with the commitment of Bennett Konkey, one of the state’s top prospects.

Konkey, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound wide receiver from Geneva, is listed as a four-star recruit by 247Sports. His commitment gives Illinois coach Bret Bielema and wide receivers coach Justin Stepp another major recruiting win, especially considering the programs the Illini beat out to land him.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

June 16, 2026

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – When the University of Illinois lands a football recruit from the state of Iowa, it draws attention throughout the recruiting world, particularly among Illini fans.

For decades, Iowa has been considered prime recruiting territory for both the Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones. However, Illinois has increasingly found success across the Mississippi River, securing commitments from some of the state’s top prospects.

Several months ago, Illinois women’s basketball coach Shauna Green landed five-star transfer recruit Divine Bourrage from Davenport North High School. On the football side, coach Bret Bielema and his staff have also made significant inroads into Iowa recruiting circles.

The Illini’s 2027 football class also includes tight end Cade Newman from Ankeny Centennial High School.

Now Illinois has added another Iowa prospect to the fold with the commitment of Ryan Paulsen, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound prospect from DeWitt, Iowa, in the Class of 2027.

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

June 15, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Zeno Jo/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – It’s going to take a bit of time for Illini fans to get used to the name and face Casey Thomann, but if family ties and head coach Bret Bielema’s recruiting tendencies are anything to go by, it might be worthwhile to keep an eye on 2028 center Jack Thomann.

Jack is the younger brother of Casey, an incoming Illinois freshman offensive lineman. He was in Champaign last week for Illinois’ Big Man Camp, which hosted a large group of high school linemen looking to be coached by members of the Illinois staff. Casey is one of those larger-than-life players at 6-foot-7 and 302 pounds, while Jack is a bit shorter, standing 6-foot-3 and 280 pounds.

“We’re similar,” the younger Thomann said, “We’re both very aggressive on the football field, but we’re also very different. He’s long, he’s tall, I’m shorter, I’m more compact. I’ve gotta do different stuff to get my way.”

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema has stated his recruiting plan for the 2027 class still hasn’t changed in two decades - offer them in person, get them on campus, get the verbal pledge.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

June 15, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy player's Hudl page)

The summer plan of action for Bret Bielema and the Illinois football player personnel staff remains very similar for the 2027 recruiting class as compared throughout the Illini head coach’s previous five full seasons in control of the program.

Get inside the prospect’s school and, if possible, his home.
Get the the prospect on your campus.
Get the verbal pledge less than 48 hours after he arrives back home from the official campus visit.

This plan was the timeline of the last four verbal commits

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

June 14, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois continues to build for the future, and one of the rising quarterbacks in the Class of 2028 is taking notice.

Carmel (Ind.) quarterback Oscar Sloan, a 6-foot-4, 195-pound prospect, has become a familiar face in Champaign. The three-star recruit recently returned to Illinois for his third campus visit.

During the trip, Sloan spent time with Illinois head coach Bret Bielema and quarterbacks coach Artur Sitkowski. The visit further strengthened his relationship with the Illini coaching staff and reinforced the impression made by the scholarship offer he received last month.

IlliniGuys caught up with Sloan on Wednesday evening to discuss his latest visit and his growing connection with the Illinois football program.

Steve Sturm, IlliniGuys Football Analyst June 13, 2025 Linebacker […]

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

June 13, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

After seemingly announcing the addition several weeks ago, Illinois finally signed Deon "Don't Call me Deron" Williams to continue to fill out the defensive line on June 1. Williams joins the Illini after a year at City College of San Francisco, which was his only offer coming out of high school. Its hard to believe that Williams wasn't on any Division I radars a year ago, yet after he posted the HUDL film below on April 7 he received the following offers in quick succession: Kansas State on April 9, Illinois on April 10, Kansas on April 10, Louisville on April 11, Colorado on April 15. With only 1 year in junior college, Williams will have 4 years to play 3, though Illini fans are keenly aware that there is a lack of size and quality on the defensive line, and Williams' 6'1 290 pound frame might be put right into action.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

June 10, 2026

Illinois football picked up a commitment from just down the street on Wednesday, as Unity High School quarterback Dane Eisenmenger committed as part of the 2026 class.

Eisenmenger, previously committed to Division II school Central Missouri, has been one of the standout talents in Champaign County during his time with the Rockets. As a starter, he led Unity to a 30-9 record over three seasons, with appearances in the state quarterfinals in 2023, semifinals in 2024, and the championship game this past fall in 2025. In that Class 3A title game, he set title game records in passing yards (545), touchdown passes (7), completions (42), and pass attempts (65).

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

June 10, 2026

Illinois started its Iowa State-themed first big recruiting weekend of the June recruiting cycle with a clean sweep of the three young men they had on campus. All three were either Iowa State leans or commits, yet they all left Champaign dreaming of Orange and Blue rather than Cardinal and Gold. The first commit of the group was Ankeny (Iowa) tight end Cade Newman. Newman is an angular tight end at 6'5, 220 pounds, and though he's clearly going to be a receiver first in college, he's a bit of a projection because his team doesn't throw the ball much at all. The result is that Newman finished the season with only 10 catches for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns. The good news is that all of his highlights are on this film. However, that's also the bad news:

http://www.hudl.com/v/2SvJeN

If you looked at this video without the knowledge that Newman only had 10 catches on the year, you'd be pretty impressed. Newman has good, not great, speed, but he's clearly an athlete. He changes directions well and has some nice agility too.

After losing the verbal commitment of four-star quarterback Kamden Lopati earlier this spring, Illinois has rebounded to earn the pledge of three-star Sladen Shack from Mississippi. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

June x, 2026

The recovery search of finding a quarterback commitment in Illinois’ 2027 recruiting class is now over. 

2027 three-star tight end Ryan Paulsen gave his verbal pledge after on his official campus visit in Champaign-Urbana this weekend.

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

June 7, 2026

Illinois has received a verbal commitment in the 2027 recruiting class from a pass rusher one could argue is specifically designed to play in the new 3-3-5 scheme brought to Champaign-Urbana by new coordinator Bobby Hauck.

Gavin Ericson-Staton’s official campus visit to Illinois was enough to flip the verbal pledge of the three-star 2027 offensive tackle prospect from Iowa State to the Illini.

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

June 7, 2026

The expected flip of Gavin Ericson-Staton’s verbal pledge from Iowa State to Illinois has been completed. Ericson-Staton announced the news of his change before the end of his official campus visit to Champaign-Urbana this weekend. 

2027 three-star tight end Cade Newman gave his verbal pledge while on his official campus visit in Champaign-Urbana on Saturday night.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

June 6, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy player's Hudl page)

The number of verbal commitments in the 2027 recruiting class for Illinois has now grown to five but once again has an out-of-state prospect.

After staying steadfast at four verbal pledges for the last month, three-star tight end Cade Newman from Ankeny (Iowa) Centennial High School gave his promise to Bret Bielema and the Illini football staff while on his official campus visit in Champaign-Urbana on Saturday night.

New Illinois tight ends coach Jared Elliot was incredibly active during the May scouting period in being visible and offering several tight ends in the Midwest area to find talent but was particularly aggressive when it came to Newman as Elliot visited Newman’s home on May 23 to give the Illini’s recruiting pitch.