Football

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

June 2, 2026

Illinois continued to fine tune its roster prior to the beginning of summer workouts with arguably its biggest portal entry yet.  Division II All American Ean Rhea from Emory and Henry chose the Illini over interest from several P4 schools including LSU.  Rhea is a polished pass rusher with enough athleticism and size to be effective as an edge rusher in the Big Ten.  He was listed at 6'2 235 on his college roster but lists himself at 6'3' and 250 pounds now.  I tend to believe the lower number in this case.  Regardless, Rhea's 12 sacks, 18 tackles for loss and 3 forced fumbles last year speak for themselves. This guy proved all he could at the lower level and Illinois was just one of several high majors to agree on that.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

I can't help compare Rhea to Daniel Brown.

IlliniGuys.com details which five players currently on the Illinois football roster could immediately benefit the most from an age-based eligibility model being passed.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

May 29, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN — Bret Bielema is closer to getting his wish with an age-based player eligibility policy.

As he enters his sixth season leading the Illinois football operation, Bielema has been publicly campaigning for what he calls a “five for five” policy for athlete eligibility for several years and the 56-year head coach might see that become NCAA legislation as soon as this coming month at the NCAA's Division I Cabinet meeting.

“I don’t think it’ll be called 5-for-5 even though that’s the easy way of describing it because it’ll actually be about when you graduate (high school) and when you have a window of time in,” Bielema said in a Zoom media session with local reporters on April 21. “I think it’ll be something that manifests itself before the start of the upcoming season.”

The model would give flexibility to currently enrolled athletes with eligibility after the 2025-26 academic year to apply the age-based model or continue previous eligibility rules, whichever is more beneficial to that individual.

“I think the NCAA, as many times as people think they’re falling on deaf ears, is an organization that is listening to common sense but it’s just a different world now,” Bielema said.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

May 26, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

Illinois fans finally got what they were waiting for all offseason when the Illini added a new player to the defensive line room with Joshua Davis from Copiah-Lincoln Community College. Davis is a 6'3 275 pounder who played only one year at Copiah-Lincoln after receiving very little interest from colleges at Mendenhall (Mississippi) High School. Just like recent JUCO signee BJ Thurman, Davis was not on anyone's radar as a P4 recruit until the moment that Illinois showed interest. Then, in the four days after Illinois offered Davis received offers from 4 other Division 1 schools before Illinois sealed the deal and earned Davis' signature. Though Thurman had offers from several other P4 schools and Davis only had offers from local schools, I actually like Davis a lot more.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

This is a relatively short highlight film because just like Thurman, Davis was playing for a junior college that was spreading playing time around and didn't commit to any one player at any position.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

May 25, 2026

Illinois doubled down on its offensive line group when Morton's Soren Fifer committed to the Illini. Fifer is a massive individual who is only 16 years old as we speak yet every bit of 6'6 and 290 pounds. Fifer really hasn't grown up yet, and despite that he received offers from most of the upper tier of the Big Ten, including Indiana, Oregon and Iowa. None of that surprises me, because what I see from Fifer is a player who really should be a 4* player yet has been overlooked a little bit because he's still maturing.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

I think everyone needs to understand the type of size Fifer brings to the table. He's already

After visiting both Louisiana State and Vanderbilt, Ean Rhea elected to play his final season of college football eligibility at Illinois in Bobby Hauck’s new 3-3-5 formation. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

May 23, 2026

CHAMPAIGN — Illinois has received a verbal pledge from a Division II All-American pass rusher for the upcoming 2026 season. 

Ked Prince, IlliniGuys Senior Recruiting Analyst

March 23, 2026

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois continues to build momentum in the class of 2027, and the latest addition gives the Illini another in-state piece to strengthen an already promising recruiting class.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

May 22, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

Even as Illinois gets going on the upcoming Class of 2027, more Class of 2026 players are committing to the program. The newest one is tight end of Benjamin Thurman from College of San Mateo. Thurman is an athletic but undersized tight end who played only one year at San Mateo, totaling only 16 catches for 322 yards. However, when you consider that Thurman had six touchdowns in those limited touches and also played defense, he gets a lot more interesting as a prospect.

Thurman's lack of production is also the result of San Mateo's odd system of playing time. San Mateo averaged 15 completed passes per game, but they spread the ball around so much and played so many players that Thurman's 1.5 receptions per game are actually third on the team. To add to this crazy story, like a few other rumored Illinois recruits, Thurman had no interest from high major schools.... and then he had tons. Thurman tweeted that he was open for recruitment in January. After Spring practice was over, Fresno State pulled the trigger with an offer in March. Then, Illinois offered on April 30 and the floodgates opened with 5 more high major offers in the next five days. Ole Miss joined the fray on May 4 and presented the biggest challenge on the recruiting trail for the Illini before Thurman committed to the Illini on May 13.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

May 22, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy player's Hudl page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – There has not been a single game played on the gridiron at Gies Memorial Stadium this year, but those around the Illinois program believe the Illini could feature one of the most aggressive offenses of the Bret Bielema era.

Illinois added another piece to that vision this morning when wide receiver Nathan Cichy announced his commitment to the Illini’s 2026 recruiting class. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound prospect from Prospect High School in Mount Prospect, Illinois, gives Illinois another speedy target on the outside.

Early Friday morning on X, Cichy announced his decision after previously being committed to Harvard.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

May 21, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy player's social media page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois Fighting Illini football coaching staff has already turned its attention toward the Class of 2027, aggressively pursuing some of the top in-state talent as recruiting efforts continue to ramp up across the Midwest.

One player drawing significant attention from the Illini is Matthew Brady, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound linebacker from Bloomington Central Catholic. Brady is rated as a three-star prospect by 247Sports and has quickly become one of the more sought-after defensive players in Illinois.

IlliniGuys recently caught up with Brady to discuss his recruitment and growing interest from Power Four programs.

(From Illinois Sports Information Office) May 20, 2026 (Cover […]

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

May 18, 2026

Illinois re-started its Class of 2027 with its first commitment in two months when Lincoln Way (East) offensive lineman Mason Halliman committed to the Illini over offers from most of the upper tier of the Big Ten. Halliman will join high school teammate Jacob Alexander with the Illini and with Alexander's shift to the defensive line, they'll even get the chance to work against each other in practice just as they surely did at Lincoln Way. Halliman is an interesting case because he looks great playing against the best 8A competition in the State of Illinois. However, his future is a big roll of the dice.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

Halliman played left tackle at Lincoln-Way, and he

(From Illinois Sports Information Office) May 17, 2026 CHAMPAIGN, […]

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.