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?

So, set aside all of the objective indicators I mentioned above and watch these highlights.  And, you'll still end up with a mixed bag that leads me to believe that Bennett is a wildcard.  There are quite a few plays on this video that scream superstar.  Bennett has a special burst that allows him to explode into a ball carrier.  And he uses that short area quickness to great effect with a spin move that is just too much for the average high school lineman.  I like the mix of pass rush moves that Bennett displays as well.  Even the best high school pass rushers tend to learn just one or two pass rush moves since a high major recruit doesn't need more than that in most cases.  However, Bennett has a long arm, a swim, an up and under and a hump move in addition to the spin moves.  That's an NFL type of arsenal.

https://www.hudl.com/video/3/18450568/6762d1f2ec7fce98364cbc87

So, Bennett has good size for a edge rusher at 6'1 245 pounds, good production for a 9-game schedule (for comparison's sake, Christian Wilkins had 71 tackles and 8 sacks in his senior year at Suffield on his way to a high 5 star rating), and he's been playing in a heavily recruited league with good competition.  Based on the above it seems crazy that Bennett wouldn't have offers from half the blueblood schools in the nation.  However, I have to say I can kind of see why some of the elite schools aren't charging after him.  Bennett has impressive athleticism for the defensive end position he's playing in high school, but its based on his quickness and suddenness rather than his top speed.  Bennett's 40 yard dash is pretty pedestrian, and if you're projecting him to outside linebacker like most high majors would, he's not necessarily and athletic standout.  I've also seen plenty of recruits who were maxed out in high school and succeeded based on the advanced technique and strength training.  Bennett's weight also appeared to be up in prior videos and rosters so its possible that other schools think that he's been out of shape.  Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have Bennett on board.  However, I can see enough pieces of the puzzle to point to him being a bust that I can see why Penn State didn't offer.  In this era of 115 players in a football program, teams should be taking more big swings though.

Where does he fit in?

I just wrote the spotlight on Jaylen Stewart, so if you read that then you know that Illinois is preparing for a change in philosophy regarding the use of its defensive linemen and outside linebackers.  The addition of Kayden Bennett to an already bulging list of edge rushers in the Class of 2026 underscores that Illinois is going to see much more pass rushing from its outside linebackers together with larger two gap types on the defensive line like a traditional 3-4 defense.  I think a defense like that is going to do very well in the Big Ten so I'm excited to see it.  However, we're all going to have to wait until 2027 before that plan is fully engaged.  As you all know the 2025 defense includes several transfers on the defensive line but otherwise returns the rest of the group intact.  We'll still see Gabe Jacas with his hand on the ground in 2025 but he'll be lined up outside where he belongs rather than in the spot where you'd normally see a defensive end.

As far as excitement, I find Bennett to be a very similar recruit to Jaylen Stewart.  Bennett's a little bigger and he has a little more star power. However, I think Stewart has a higher floor.  Either guy is a good get for this program though, and I especially like the idea of taking the potential star power in Bennett when the Illini have already added a stable of players who will be ready to man the outside linebacker position capably in Bennett doesn't work out.  This is exactly what I'd like the Illini to do in the future if we're going to keep 115 players in the program.  Give this addition a 7 on the 10 point scale.