By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

April 28th, 2021

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema was serious when he talked about recruiting and making Illinois football relevant in not only the Big Ten but nationally as well.

For the first time in many years, the football team’s class of 2022 already has six verbal commitments on deck before we turn the calendar to May.  In 2021.

Owen Anderson, a 6’4”, 235-pound Tight End from Skillman, NJ, committed to the Illini today. Anderson had 13 offers but picked Illinois over Michigan State with the new staff as the driving component in his final decision.

"I picked Illinois strictly because of the staff; they have a great plan for me in their offense. I'm going to receive an amazing education. I've also been in touch with other recruits, we hit it off well, and we all get along," Anderson said.

During the spring game last week, Illinois made notable use of the tight ends. It's a position Bielema is really confident about this season in his new-look offense.

Anderson said that it's easy to see why Illinois is ahead in the recruiting game now stating, "They have such a good family feel there. Everyone is buying into the program. You can tell they're bringing a different feel and energy there and I like that a lot.”

According to Anderson, Bielema, linebackers coach Andy Buh, and tight ends coach Ben Miller were all instrumental in landing Anderson.

"We're going to Illinois to win. The staff is showing confidence in us, so we're helping them recruit other players to join us. We have a group chat, and we talk almost daily," said Anderson.

Anderson is a three-star recruit with good hands, according to SpartanMag.com. Anderson is a sleeper with a great upside and will be a very productive weapon on offense in college.

Please follow me on Twitter @KedPrince4.

PrinceKedric@yahoo.com