Illinois
A huge surge in recruiting gives Illinois football a great early National Signing Day
I am not someone who runs and hides from the opinions I have had in the past, and I have a doozy about the Illinois football program.
Back in July, I wrote an article about how the Illini class of 2025 is struggling. The article was titled “Transfer portal might be needed to save the Illinois football class of 2025.”
In fairness to myself, at the time of the article, Illinois had the No. 57 class in the country with 13 commitments, and honestly, there weren’t a ton of options on the table.
Over the coming months, Bret Bielema went to work. The coach has his flaws, like everyone else, but he has been able to go out and recruit his butt off, along with the great group of coaches he has assembled.
On Wednesday, early National Signing Day kicked off, and Bielema had a great day. He finished the day with 21 commitments and a national recruiting ranking of No. 43 in the country.
Bielema is on pace for another top-50 class, which would give him four in a row. In 2022, Illinois had a freshman class that ranked No. 46 in the nation. In 2023, we ranked No. 38. And in 2024, we ranked No. 49 in the country.
A top 50 class in 2025 wouldn’t have been possible without the past few weeks of recruiting. It has been a great run for the Illini, and it was capped off with a huge flip on Wednesday.
Just in the past month, Illinois has landed three out of their top seven signees. But there has been a myriad of commitments in this time frame.
It all started with Illinois flipping offensive tackle JJ Hirdes and cornerback Tywan Cox. Bielema was then able to flip linebacker Grant Beerman and offensive lineman Dylan Frechette. And on Wednesday, Illinois flipped running back John Forster. Those were five huge recruiting flips from this coaching staff.
Altogether, Illinois added six commitments in the past four weeks. That is a massive transition for the class of 2025 and one that will pay dividends down the road.
At the end of the day, no one really knows who is going to pan out and who is going to flame out. Recruiting is a tough game, but with recruiting, you have to go with what is on paper.
Illinois’ class of 2025 is quite impressive when you look at the 247Sports Composite Rankings. This lays out where each player is nationally.
Bielema has four recruiting classes under his belt right now with the class of 2025 still finishing up in the coming months. He was tasked with building Illinois from the ground up, so I give him a bit of a pass for the first recruiting class in 2022.
With that said, Illinois’ recruiting has gotten deeper and deeper each year. In 2022, Illinois had nine out of the 26 commitments rank inside the top 1000 nationally. The following two recruiting classes saw a slight bump from that, as the 2023 class had 11 top 1000 recruits and the class of 2024 had 10 top 1000 recruits.
With all 21 commitments signed and a couple of months until the regular National Signing Day, Illinois already has 14 top 1000 recruits onboard. That is a number that Illinois hasn’t had in a long time.
Not only is the quantity where it needs to be for Illinois to be competitive, but now we are starting to get the caliber of player into the program that is needed. Bielema has Illinois football competing on and off the field at a high level.
Next. Illinois football pulls off huge National Signing Day recruiting flip. Illinois football pulls off huge National Signing Day recruiting flip. dark
The 29th Big Ten men’s basketball tournament starts Tuesday and ends Sunday at the United Center, where the champion will snip down the nets while the NCAA Tournament bracket reveal furiously gets underway.
In keeping with tradition, the NCAA selection committee will claim to have factored the Big Ten final into its seeding even though it — how to put this? — did not.
Unlike last year, when 15 teams made the Big Ten field, this tourney will include all 18 teams and begin a day sooner, because clearly a five-day event just wasn’t long enough.
A team-by-team glimpse, in order of seeding (odds via FanDuel):
1. MICHIGAN (29-2, 19-1)
Next: TBD, 11 a.m. Friday, BTN.
Title odds: +105.
Snip? If the ginormous frontcourt of Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr. brutalizes foes like it did Illinois in Champaign, it’s over-and-out for everybody else.
Or slip? Point guard Elliot Cadeau might wear down with injured L.J. Cason unable to spell him.
2. NEBRASKA (25-5, 15-5)
Next: TBD, 5:30 p.m. Friday, BTN.
Title odds: +1000.
Snip? No team plays harder at the defensive end, and the Huskers move the ball beautifully on offense. Is it shooter Pryce Sandfort’s time to shine?
Or slip? Is coach Fred Hoiberg allowed to win a championship at the UC? Asking for a few million friends.
3. MICHIGAN STATE (25-6, 15-5)
Next: TBD, approximately 8 p.m. Friday, BTN.
Title odds: +650.
Snip? Jeremy Fears is one of the best playmakers around, and we are bound by law to say it’s hard to beat Tom Izzo in March.
Or slip? As tough as this team is, it lacks the kind of star power we’ve often seen in green.
4. ILLINOIS (24-7, 15-5)
Next: TBD, approximately 1:30 p.m. Friday, BTN.
Title odds: +470.
Snip? If freshmen Keaton Wagler and David Mirkovic hold up to postseason competition, the shooters around them will give the Illini a shot to win it for the third time in the 2020s.
Or slip? The Illini likely would have to get past Michigan in the semis, and the first meeting was ugly.
5. WISCONSIN (22-9, 14-6)
Next: Washington-USC winner, approximately 1:30 p.m. Thursday, BTN.
Title odds: +3500.
Snip? The team that popped Purdue for 97 points to ruin the Boilermakers’ Senior Day can beat anybody.
Or slip? The team that ham-fisted its way through recent lopsided losses at Ohio State and Oregon isn’t going anywhere.
6. UCLA (21-10, 13-7)
Next: Minnesota-Rutgers winner, approximately 8 p.m. Thursday, BTN.
Title odds: +3500.
Snip? When point guard Donovan Dent is on his game, this offense — particularly shooter Tyler Bilodeau — is dangerous.
Or slip? The Bruins are a different team, and not in a good way, away from home.
7. PURDUE (23-8, 13-7)
Next: TBD, 5:30 p.m. Thursday, BTN.
Title odds: +550.
Snip? Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer have been there so many times before.
Or slip? Who would’ve believed the Boilers would tumble all the way to seventh? Something’s off with Matt Painter’s crew.
8. OHIO STATE (20-11, 12-8)
Next: TBD, 11 a.m. Thursday, BTN.
Title odds: +7500.
Snip? Bruce Thornton, the school’s career scoring leader, isn’t the only Buckeye who can fill it up.
Or slip? Statistically, this team is right down the middle in the conference. That has “also-ran” written all over it.
9. IOWA (20-11, 10-10)
Next: Oregon-Maryland winner, 11 a.m. Wednesday, Peacock.
Title odds: +5000.
Snip? Guard Bennett Stirtz is terrific, and first-year coach Ben McCollum’s postseason record (most of it at Northwest Missouri State) is unreal.
Or slip? Stirtz doesn’t have a whole lot in the way of sidekicks.
10. INDIANA (18-13, 9-11)
Next: Northwestern-Penn State winner, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, BTN.
Title odds: +10000.
Snip? Guard Lamar Wilkerson led the Big Ten in scoring in league play and had multiple 40-plus-point games.
Or slip? Look, it’s a football school and the whole world knows it.
11. MINNESOTA (15-16, 8-12)
Next: Rutgers, approximately 8 p.m. Wednesday, BTN.
Title odds: +30000.
Snip? The Gophers have beaten three higher seeds, one of them Michigan State.
Or slip? Minnesota still hasn’t won this tournament. Why start now?
12. WASHINGTON (15-16, 7-13)
Next: USC, approximately 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Peacock.
Title odds: +20000.
Snip? The Huskies went 3-3 down the stretch and had late leads in two of the losses.
Or slip? One NCAA win in the last 14 years kind of says it all.
13. USC (18-13, 7-13)
Next: Washington, approximately 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Peacock.
Title odds: +30000.
Snip? A 4-1 stretch that began at Wisconsin looked really good.
Or slip? There have been seven straight losses since then, and star Chad Baker-Mazara was just booted from the program.
14. RUTGERS (13-18, 6-14)
Next: Minnesota, approximately 8 p.m. Wednesday, BTN.
Title odds: N/A.
Snip? A lot of steals and not many turnovers from this squad.
Or slip? Every league win came against Penn State, Maryland, Oregon or Northwestern.
Northwestern forward Nick Martinelli (2) celebrates with teammates after scoring the winning basket during overtime of an NCAA college basketball game against Maryland in Evanston, Ill., Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) ORG XMIT: ILNH117
15. NORTHWESTERN (13-18, 5-15)
Next: Penn State, approximately 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Peacock.
Title odds: +30000.
Snip? The name’s Nick Martinelli. Perhaps you’ve heard of him.
Or slip? And then there are the rest of the Wildcats.
16. OREGON (12-19, 5-15)
Next: Maryland, 4 p.m. Tuesday, Peacock.
Title odds: +30000.
Snip? The Ducks won four of seven down the stretch. They aren’t total pushovers.
Or slip? Injured Jackson Shelstad isn’t entering the building. At least not in shorts.
17. MARYLAND (11-20, 4-16)
Next: Oregon, 4 p.m. Tuesday, Peacock.
Title odds: N/A.
Snip? Freshman guard Andre Mills has been going off and scored 39 at Northwestern.
Or slip? Uh, the Terrapins still lost in Evanston.
18. PENN STATE (12-19, 3-17)
Next: Northwestern, approximately 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Peacock.
Title odds: N/A.
Snip? Aside from being utterly terrible at defense, rebounding and three-point shooting, the Nittany Lions are merely subpar.
Or slip? Gee, you think?
One person was injured this weekend in a townhome fire in the southwest Chicago suburb of Orland Park, which officials said may have been exacerbated by hoarding.
The Orland Fire Protection District was called Saturday afternoon for the fire in a two-story, four-unit townhome complex the 9100 block of Greencastle Lane in Orland Park. Firefighters arrived at 1:43 p.m.
There was no obvious evidence that the townhouse complex was on fire when firefighters arrived, but they later found a basement fire involving the end unit of the complex, the district said.
All occupants were evacuated from the attached townhouses as firefighters went in. They entered the front door with a hose, but found “mounds of obstacles” in the way, the district said.
Fire crews found what were believed to be heavy hoarding conditions obstructing the path to the basement, the district said. Multiple crews had to come in to clear everything out of the way to get to the fire.
One homeowner was treated for a minor head injury, but declined to go to the hospital, the district said.
The cause of the fire was under investigation Sunday.
The Illinois Attorney General is suing a suburban McDonald’s restaurant, accusing the operator of overworking teens, some for 17 hours straight.
The lawsuit alleges the Lockport location owned by Nicholas J. Kory and Lockor LLC violated 568 Illinois Child Labor Laws in 2023.
The restaurant allegedly worked children aged 14 and 15 years old for longer than 8 hours without rest and meal breaks. One minor worked until 1:30 a.m.
The Illinois Department of Labor is seeking over $2.1 million for victims, which the company has not paid.
In a statement, the local owner said, “We are committed to ensuring that all our employees feel safe, respected, and valued. We have taken steps to address concerns that have been raised.”
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