• Sutter chose the Crimson Tide over Illinois, Ole Miss, and Ohio State.
• He is the No. 1 prospect in Illinois and the No. 80 prospect nationally, according to 247Sports Composite.
• Sutter is the first tight end in Alabama’s 2026 recruiting class.

PEORIA — Roll Tide.

Dunlap four-star tight end Mack Sutter announced his commitment to Alabama on Thursday night before family and friends at Weaver’s Fresh Food and Drink.

Sutter thanks his teammates, coaches, friends and family before choosing the Southeastern Conference power over other finalists Illinois, Ole Miss and Ohio State. He then pulled on a maroon long-sleeved shirt before grabbing a few others and tossing them to the crowd.

“Thank you guys for pushing me every day. I’m so lucky to have a great group of guys to compete with every day,” Sutter said. “… Most of all, my parents, I am just so grateful for them. They’ve guided me and shaped me into the man I am today.”

The 6-foot-6, 225-pound senior-to-be made Alabama his final official visit on June 20. He’ll join the Tide’s 11-member recruiting Class of 2026 that features five-star cornerback Jorden Edmonds and four-star athlete Zyan Gibson.

Sutter becomes the first tight end, and the third highest-ranked Alabama commit in the class of 2026, ranking as the No. 80 prospect nationally, seventh-ranked tight end and the No. 1 prospect in Illinois by 247Sports Composite.

During the last 18 months, Sutter picked up 45 scholarship offers highlighted by a combined 30 offers from the Big Ten SEC. He is one of the most sought-after football recruits in Peoria-area history.

“Mack,” Dunlap football coach Brett Cazalet said, “the reason he had so many offers and so many opportunities is not only because of his physical traits, but also, when a coach sits down and talks to him for just a couple minutes and sees how he wants to be as a player, what kind of young man he is.

“Yeah, it’s a no brainer. You want a guy like that in your program.”

For Sutter, this most recent trip to Tuscaloosa came after he attended a pair of Alabama games during the 2024 season. He was at Alabama’s 41-34 win over Georgia in September, then attended the annual Iron Bowl against Auburn in November where Bama won 28-14.

“It was unreal,” Sutter told the Journal Star in December after attending the Egg Bowl and Iron Bowl on back-to-back days. “They were both pretty electric games, so it was sweet seeing that. … You could tell that it was big-time football down there.”

Sutter joins an Alabama tight end room that should be completely revamped heading into 2026, according to Colin Gay of the Tuscaloosa News. It could be headlined by returnees Marshall Pritchett and Kaleb Edwards, along with West Virginia transfer Jack Sammarco.

“At Alabama, tight end is a ‘developmental’ position, one where freshmen rarely see the field,” Gay wrote, adding that Sutter will “need to develop blocking SEC-level tackles before he sees significant playing time.”

Sutter and Dunlap will open the 2025 campaign on the road against Galesburg at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 29.

A new study shows Illinois has a housing shortage of 142,000 homes and would need to build 45,000 homes each year for the next five years to meet demand.

Researchers from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the Project for Middle Class Renewal at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found that rising incomes, employment growth and higher rates of homeownership have increased demand for housing.

The study shows employment in Illinois has increased more than 9% since 2010, and the state now has more than 5 million households — a 4% growth over the past five years.

Frank Manzo IV, co-author of the report and economist with the Illinois Economic Policy Institute, said there aren’t enough houses on the market to accommodate rising interest in homeownership.

“The number of active listings of homes that are for sale are 64% lower than they were prior to the pandemic,” Manzo said. “So, a huge drop-off in the number of homes for sale right at the time when more people are working and more people are earning incomes and wanting to buy their first homes or upgrade to better homes.”

The study shows a 37% increase in the average value of an Illinois home over the past five years.

It also shows the state has averaged only 19,000 building permits for new homes annually since 2020, which is below pre-pandemic levels.

Manzo said the homes that are available cost more as time goes on.

“Improving affordability would require a substantial increase in housing supply to boost inventory, the number of homes for sale and the number of homes being built,” he said. “Illinois could take a number of steps, and these could be statewide.”

He also said easing zoning restrictions, fast-tracking permits and increasing surtaxes on short-term rentals like Airbnb and Vrbo could bring more homes to the market.

While the report shows Illinois is more affordable than most other states, Manzo said there are some factors that can’t be controlled, such as mortgage rates or tariffs on building supplies.

However, Manzo said taking steps to increase affordability will benefit both current and future residents.

“They can take action to reduce the barriers for prospective buyers, for renters, for developers,” he said. “And the data certainly argues in favor of policy changes that boost the number of homes that are available for people to purchase and the number of homes that are affordable for people to purchase.”