Football

Sean Rice, a 6-foot-2 and 210-pound linebacker prospect from St. Laurence High School, is the third commitment in a six-day period for Bret Bielema’s Illini program.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

May 15, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy player's Hudl page)

CHAMPAIGN — Sean Rice has become the fourth in-state verbal pledge to the Illinois 2027 recruiting class.

Rice is the third commitment in a six-day period in what has been a much more news-worthy recruiting month for Bret Bielema’s Illini program. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound linebacker prospect from Evergreen Park, Ill., joins Lincoln-Way East offensive lineman Mason Halliman and Morton offensive lineman Soren Fifer in a 2027 recruiting class that for multiple months had no more than two verbal pledges and was down to one - Evanston cornerback Justin Johnson - after the decommitment of four-star quarterback Kamden Lopati.

After getting an offer from Illinois linebackers coach Archie McDaniel in late November, Rice took an unofficial visit in early April to a spring practice session at Memorial Stadium in Champaign while having scheduled several official visits to Illini league rivals at Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue and Wisconsin.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

May 15, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois continued addressing its need along the defensive front with a commitment from junior college defensive lineman Joshua Davis, a 6-foot-3, 270-pound prospect from Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi.

Just days ago, IlliniGuys spoke with Davis about his growing relationship with the Illinois coaching staff. At the time, the Mississippi native hinted strongly at his interest in the Illini program. Now, Illinois has secured another important piece for its future defensive line.
Davis said the passion surrounding Illinois football played a major role in his decision.

“When we talked the other day, I was so excited then, but

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

May 14, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Matt Stevens/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The recruiting momentum continues to build for the Illinois football program as the Illini added another commitment to their growing future class today.

Just one day after landing junior college tight end Benjamin Thurman from the College of San Mateo in California, Illinois dipped back into the high school ranks and secured a commitment from in-state offensive lineman Soren Fifer of Morton High School.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

May 14, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Those around the Illinois football program understand the defensive line remains an area of focus for Bret Bielema and his staff.

The Illini are continuing to explore the junior college ranks in search of talent up front, and one prospect who has emerged on Illinois’ radar is 6-foot-3, 270-pound defensive lineman Joshua Davis of Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mendenhall, Mississippi, in the class of 2026

The University of Illinois athletics department announced on Wednesday the signing of junior college tight end Benjamin “BJ” Thurman from College of San Mateo in California. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

May 13, 2026

CHAMPAIGN — The remake of the tight end room inside the University of Illinois football program has continued with an addition from one of Bret Bielema’s favorite go-to places: The junior college player market. 

Illinois announced the signing of junior college tight end Benjamin “BJ” Thurman from College of San Mateo in California. Thurman is likely to be one of nine tight ends on the Illini’s 2026 roster and will likely be one of eight former junior college players that will suit up for Illinois this fall. 

Illinois is scheduled to have 14 uncommitted prospects on an official visit during the first three weekends in the month of June.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

May 12, 2026

CHAMPAIGN — Bret Bielema believes his program’s patience in how they’ve approached the recruiting calendar and salary market for the 2027 recruiting class will benefit them next month.

The verbal pledge of three-star interior offensive lineman Mason Halliman to Illinois last weekend marked just the second commitment to the Illini’s 2027 recruiting class but that lack of numbers is not a shock or necessarily a problem to the program’s sixth-year head coach. Bielema told local reporters weeks ago that his staff’s plan was to wait until after the end of the May evaluation period before figuring out “the market for high school players” for this summer recruiting cycle.

“I know you guys keep a look at this but the market for high school players, the amount of money they’re getting, is unprecedented,” Bielema said in a Zoom session with local media on May 1. “You really have to know what your roster is and what the value of those guys are. I’m not quite ready to have those numbers until after we get done with this May evaluation period.”

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

May 10, 2026

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois wide receivers coach Justin Stepp is making a strong impression on rapidly rising Geneva High School prospect Bennett Konkey after recently extending an offer to the 6-foot-1, 180-pound wide receiver.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

May 9, 2026

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois football program faced a notable recruiting setback, but its response was immediate and decisive. After losing one of the most decorated quarterback prospects of the Bret Bielema era, Kamden Lopati, who flipped his commitment to Michigan, the Illini coaching staff quickly shifted focus, reinforcing a “next man up” approach as they continue shaping the future of the program.

Illinois has already moved forward, extending an offer to 2027 quarterback Dane Weber, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound signal caller from Chaparral High School in Temecula, California.

Three-star offensive lineman Mason Halliman informed Illinois head coach […]

Illinois has been selected to play back-to-back Friday night […]

Illinois men’s golf suffer a 17-shot swing in a 24-hour period to go from a two-shot lead to a 15-shot deficit from round one to two of 2026 Big Ten Championshios. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

May 2, 2026

Illinois will need a historic comeback to bring home the 2026 Big Ten Championship trophy from Oregon on Sunday. 

Illinois second-year player Freddie Turnell is tied for the lead after the first round of the 2026 Big Ten Championships following a win at the Hoosier Collegiate in Indiana last week.

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

May 2, 2025

If Friday was going to be Freddie Turnell’s most challenging 18 holes in his current collegiate golf career, he can certainly consider that test passed with flying colors. 

(From Illinois Sports Information Office) April 30, 2026   […]

One of the major needs in this 2026 draft for the New England Patriots was pass rushing help and they filled that requirement by trading up for Illinois edge rusher Gabe Jacas.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

April 26, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

For a team that won 14 regular season games under first-year head coach Mike Vrabel, earned the No. 2 seed in the American Football Conference in the National Football League playoffs and advanced all the way to Super Bowl 60, one would think the New England Patriots defense was creating massive amounts of havoc in the opposing backfields.

The reality is Vrabel, a defensive-minded head coach, and his defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr would likely be the first people to admit New England had a pass rush problem in 2025. The Patriots were near the bottom of the NFL in quarterback sacks, quarterback hurries and quarterback knockdowns leading to them being in the top five of 32 NFL defenses in percentage of blitzes called per game in order to create any backfield disruption at all.

So, after trading up in the first round on Thursday to draft some protection for quarterback Drake Maye, in the form of Utah offensive tackle Caleb Lomu, with the 28th overall pick in the first round, New England general manager Eliot Wolf elected to do the same thing on Friday night

Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer goes undrafted in 2026 NFL Draft. Illini still haven’t had a quarterback selected in NFL draft since Kurt Kittner in 2002. Altmyer signed a free agent tryout deal with the Detroit Lions.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

April 26, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

The run of Illini quarterbacks not hearing their name called during the NFL Draft continues.

Record-setting Illinois passer Luke Altmyer not among one of the 257 players selected in the 2026 NFL Draft. Amongst the seven rounds of the draft over the last three days, 10 quarterbacks were selected by NFL teams including three from Big Ten Conference schools (Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza at No. 1 overall, Penn State’s Drew Allar at No. 76 overall and Athan Kaliakmanis, who played at both Minnesota and Rutgers, at 223rd overall). 

Shortly after the draft concluded on Saturday evening, IlliniGuys.com was able to confirm what NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero first reported that Altmyer had signed a free agent tryout deal with Detroit Lions. The Lions did not select a quarterback in the 2026 draft and its depth chart currently includes just two quarterbacks under contract - 31-year-old projected starter Jared Goff and 33-year-old projected backup Teddy Bridgewater.