Football

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

December 19, 2024

(Cover photo courtesy Wisconsin Athletics)

Illinois made its first portal addition of the offseason Tuesday when Wisconsin outside linebacker Leon Lowery committed to the Illini.  Lowery started his career with Syracuse and had a fairly strong career there before he transferred to the Badgers last year.  However, Lowery had a mediocre year with Wisconsin in 2024 so it made sense for both he and the Badgers for him to seek a change of scenery in 2025.  Lowery will have a sixth year of eligibility in 2025, one of the last guys you'll see that his able to take advantage of a COVID year since he started at Syracuse in 2020 and played so little in 2020 and 2021 that he was able to redshirt.  Lowery is a very good athlete who has shown spurts of star-quality play in college but hasn't put it all together.  In other words, he's exactly the kind of player Illinois should be after because he could make a huge difference, yet Illinois won't need to rely on him if he doesn't take that next step.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

December 19, 2024

(Cover photo courtesy NIU Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, IL – Illinois football is earning a reputation for building its program through depth, player development, and a few proven veteran players rather than becoming a hub for transfer players.

Northern Illinois quarterback Ethan Hampton, originally planning to visit Illinois last week, made a detour to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he committed to Wake Forest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuxFdwU1B3g&t=334s    

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

December 17, 2024

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Illinois Fighting Illini added a key transfer to their roster Tuesday night, securing a commitment from defensive end Leon Lowery.

Mike Cagley, Co-Host Sports Spectacular and Big Sports Radio […]

Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer announces his return to the […]

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruting

December 13th, 2024

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — December is typically basketball season for Illinois fans, but this year is different. The 9-3 Fighting Illini football team is gearing up for the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on December 31st and the newly active transfer portal is creating a buzz around the program. Illinois is able to market what they have to offer.

Here’s the latest on Illinois’ activity in the transfer portal:

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema and his Illini staff have a plan to address specific positional needs in this current portal opening. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

December 11, 2024

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The coaches who work inside the Smith Family Football Complex in Champaign are figuring that winning can dramatically flip the perception of their targets in the transfer portal. 

Mike Cagley, Co-Host Sports Spectacular and Big Sports Radio […]

Illinois football is 0-6 all-time against Southeastern Conference opponents and is a 10.5-point underdog to No. 15 South Carolina in 2024 Citrus Bowl. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

December 8, 2024

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — No matter the specific situation he has encountered, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema says feels like he’s fighting uphill against the program’s history. 

Illinois has been selected to its second New Year’s […]

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

December 8, 2024

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – There were 19 players who had given verbal commitments to Illinois football head coach Bret Bielema and were expected to sign and send in their National Letters of Intent on National Signing Day on Wednesday.

But a 20th such letter was a bit of a surprise.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

December 7, 2024

We should call this wildcard week, because in the last three days Illinois has added three players to its recruiting class who all have incredibly good attributes in some ways yet big question marks in other ways such that each of them could be All Conference, or All Afterthought. The third of these three players has the best resume in that John Forster was at one time a four star rated player, yet is currently a high three star player by all the evaluators and its seems to be based primarily on the lack of production in his senior year. However, St. Joseph Regional High School saw that Forster is more than a between tackles runner like Forster's predecessor, four star Syracuse signee Yasin Willis. Forster is a runner first, but he's a reliable receiver with very good hands, so St. Joseph splits him out wide to both run routes and to stay alive as an option for their multi-purpose quarterback. It's a really interesting offense, but unfortunately for Forster it doesn't work to feature his outstanding running ability.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

December 6, 2024

(Cover photo courtesy player's page on X)

Illinois has been flipping players to the Orange and Blue all over the place this fall with the team's success on the field and they continued adding to their 21-man class of 2025 with Dylan Frechette from West Palm Beach Cardinal Newman by way of Rhode Island.  Frechette is a three-star left tackle with rare athletic ability, but he presents the wildest of wild cards because of his positioning, athletic ability, and level of competition.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema expresses excitement over the 2025 signing class being able to continue the Newton, Scott and Cox family names long after the older brothers leave the program.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

December 5, 2024

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Since Bret Bielema became the 26th head football coach in the history of the University of Illinois program, the idea of a family atmosphere has always been a marketing slogan.

In the Illini’s 2025 recruiting class, Bielema elected to turn the “FAMILLY” slogan into a reality of talent on the football by signing three younger brothers of players already on the 2024 roster.