Football

With the previously slated home game against Missouri being moved off Illinois’ 2026 non-conference, IlliniGuys.com looks into possible non-power conference opponents to fill that spot.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

July 6, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

Now that Illinois athletics director Josh Whitman has confirmed the 2026 home game against Missouri will not be happening, the obvious issue is Bret Bielema’s football program has an open non-conference slot on that schedule.

In his summer media roundtable on June 27, Whitman said what he was “a mutual decision” between Illinois and Missouri to remove the 2026 game from their schedules was a desire to subtract one power conference opponent from each of their slates. Illinois was slated to host both Missouri and Duke in its 2026 schedule along with scheduling a home game against Southern Illinois. With the Big Ten Conference continuing with its nine-game league schedule, Illinois was slated to play 11 power conference opponents in the 2026 season.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

July 4, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Mack Sutter)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – In a span of less than a week, the Illinois football program lost two of the state’s top prospects, both tight ends, as Mack Sutter of Dunlap and Mt. Zion's JC Anderson committed elsewhere. Ranked No. 2 and No. 5 in Illinois, respectively, according to Rivals.com, Sutter chose Alabama while Anderson committed to Ole Miss.

Both were heavily recruited by Illinois, and head coach Bret Bielema and his staff did everything by the book. They tracked their multi-sport performances, went to watch those events, built relationships with their families, and welcomed them to campus more than five to seven times each. The Illini left no stone unturned.

Sutter made his decision first. Anderson followed with his announcement on Tuesday. But what stood out this time wasn’t just the losses; it was the strong backlash across social media, message boards, private group chats, and text threads. And in many ways, that’s a sign of progress.

Illinois athletics director Josh Whitman confirmed both Illini and Missouri are looking at several options to bring at least two of what will now be a six-game football series at neutral sites.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

July 3, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy mutigers.com)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois and Missouri fans will need to wait another year for a resumption of the rivalry border war on the football side.

In his annual roundtable discussion with local media last week inside the Bielfeldt Building, University of Illinois athletics director Josh Whitman confirmed the modification of what was originally an eight-game series between the two power conference programs to what has been revised to a six-game series.

The 2026 game in Champaign, which was slated to be the first game between the two teams since 2010, has been removed from the future series along with the matchup originally slated in 2032 in Champaign.

Mike Cagley, Co-Host Sports Spectacular June 30, 2025 Wednesday […]

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

June 26, 2025

Illinois continued to roll along with its recent recruiting haul with the highest rated recruit of the Class of 2026 so far: 4-star tackle Kai Pritchard of Donovan Catholic in Toms River, NJ.  Pritchard is a recruit with good size at 6'5 275 and good athleticism, but what makes him special is his first step.  He has the initial quickness that creates an advantage over the defender on every single play.  Illinois beat dozens of schools to gain Pritchard's commitment, but in the end it came down to Pritchard's home state school of Rutgers versus the stronger program at Illinois.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

June 25, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

Though the Illini hadn't recruited Texas very well at all during the Bielema era, new assistants Archie McDaniel and Justin Stepp have made Texas a priority and their hard work has paid off with the highest rated Texas commit thus far, Fort Bend Marshall (Missouri City) safety Isaiah Williams.  Williams is a little small for a safety at a generously listed 6'1"and 190 pounds, but he plays a lot bigger than you'd think and used his surprising strength to make a lot of big plays for a traditional football power in the suburbs of Houston.  Williams had offers from nearly all the blue blood programs in the nation after a fantastic sophomore year for Marshall's excellent 12-2 season.  However, Williams missed three games last year, Marshall's win total dropped by 5, and Williams' statistical output dropped as well with only 56 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 1 interception and fumble recovery down from 86,7,4 and 1.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

June 24, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Matt Stevens/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Just a few short weeks ago, the Guy Memorial Golf Outing, a friendly competition featuring athletes from the University of Iowa and Illinois, looked noticeably different in Southwest Rock Island.

According to host Matt Randazzo, the Iowa side has traditionally dominated the event, but this year, more orange and blue were spotted throughout the course.

4-star prospect Cameron Wagner is still mentally balancing being the No. 1 Illinois offensive lineman in the 2027 class while still maintaining small-town roots and values.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

June 23, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — For the better part of the last 14 months, the process and timeline has been the same.

Cameron Wagner will hear that he’s received a verification on his phone, look at the screen and think he’s been pranked or catfished.

“I still remember there was a time where I’ll be in the house and I’ll yell, ‘Mom, why is the head football coach at Notre Dame following me on Twitter and Instagram?’,” says Wagner, the No. 3-ranked Illinois prospect in the 2027 recruiting class, according to Rivals.com. “I remember coming to her saying ‘Mom, this can’t be [Illinois head coach] Bret Bielema’s actual Twitter account following me, right? That makes no sense why he’d be following me, right?’

Mike Cagley, Co-Host Sports Spectacular June 23, 2025 This […]

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

June 22, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's Instagram page)

Illinois' early summer recruiting blitz continued when Suffield (Connecticut) Academy's Edge rusher Kayden Bennett pledged to the Illini to become the 20th member of the Class of 2026.  Bennett is a real wild card of an addition.  He's a 4 star player according to some services and a high three star player according to others.  He also has an odd mix of offers that includes only the bottom of the ACC despite his high rating.  His other official visits prior to last weekend's visit to Champaign were to Temple and UConn who haven't gotten a football recruit in the 4-star range since (checks notes) forever. 

Those of you who've read my columns closely will remember that Illinois recruited quite a few players from the private school league that includes Suffield Academy in the first year of the Bielema era and came up empty.   There are a lot of small private schools in the Northeast with high major recruits, but its difficult to evaluate them because they'll often play another team with 2 high major recruits together with 20 guys who belong in 1A ball in Illinois.  However, Suffield Academy has produced quite a few star football players including Christian Wilkins and two recent Michigan Wolverines.  This despite Suffield being one of the lesser teams in the Northeast Prep League.  And with 56 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 8 sacks as a junior in the League, Bennett certainly should have drawn some attention.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

June 21, 2025

Illinois got its first big flip of the 2026 recruiting season when Pearland (Tx) outside linebacker Jaylen Stewart changed his commitment from Oklahoma State to Illinois.  Stewart is a 6'2, 220 pounder who is a plus athlete and put up very good numbers as a junior at Texas' highest level of competition, which is an extremely rare thing to say about an Illinois recruit.  Illinois has picked up some valuable players from Texas over the years, but aside from Marquez Beason they've been under the radar types.  However, Illinois beat out numerous ACC and Big 12 schools for Stewart in addition to Auburn and USC.  And folks, I fully expect that bigger names will get involved before signing day because Stewart is legit.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

June 19, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's Hudl page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Get used to it. Illinois football is now going toe-to-toe with anyone in college football. That’s right, Illinois is landing top-tier talent for the first time in more than a decade.

Today, the Illini received a commitment from Nick Hankins, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound cornerback from Belleville, Illinois. Most top recruiting publications list Hankins as a four-star prospect, and if you gauge his list of offers, it’s easy to see how significant this pickup is for Illini Nation.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

June 17, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

If you gave just about any offensive coordinator an unlimited roster, the first thing he would do is stock up with specialty tight ends.  Even if the 7th tight end you add isn't sexy and doesn't have an NFL future, there's nothing quite like a specialty tight end to take advantage of a certain match-up or run a play you design for him when you really need a first down.  I wrote this same thing when the Illini signed Carson Goda last summer: look for him to get a touchdown when you least expect it.  Sure enough the Illini designed a play for Goda to leak out into the flat after not looking at him all year and he scored the only Illini touchdown against Penn State.  I hope to see more of Will Vala than that long-term, but that's the first thing I thought of when I looked into Will Vala's ability.  He's the perfect type of guy to put on the field in passing situations and use to get a key play when you really need it.  The 6'4 220 pounder from Downers Grove North is a better player that Goda and Illinois had to beat 4 other Big Ten schools as well as a handful of other high majors to gain his commitment.  However, even with Illinois likely switching to using tight ends more and more as receivers like Bret Bielema and Barry Lunney did at Arkansas, he's a little limited.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting June […]

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

June 18, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – It’s becoming clear that Illinois head football coach Bret Bielema isn’t just content with a top-10 recruiting class, he appears to be aiming for the No. 1 spot in the country.

This 2026 recruiting class is something Illini fans haven’t seen in years, or maybe even decades. Today, Kai Pritchard, a 6-foot-5, 275-pound offensive tackle from Donovan Catholic (Toms River, N.J.), committed to Illinois.