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Illinois football recruiting: 19 players Illini targeting on early signing day

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Illinois football recruiting: 19 players Illini targeting on early signing day


Early signing day is here.

Illinois football currently has 19 commitments in its 2025 class but is looking to add more as it tries to solidify another class under fourth-year coach Bret Bielema. Illinois’ 2025 class sits at No. 46 in the nation and No. 15 in the Big Ten Conference per the 247Sports Composite.

All four of Bielema’s recruiting classes have hovered around the top 40 or 50, according to the 247Sports rankings. The decade before Bielema came, just three classes ranked that high, according to Jeremy Werner of Illini Inquirer, part of the 247Sports umbrella of recruiting experts.

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Here are a few players the Illini are still targeting at early signing day, plus a list of players expected to sign:

Illinois football recruiting targets

There are still a few players left uncommitted, according to Werner. Names to know include four-start defensive back Alex Graham of Michigan. The Colorado commit visited Champaign in the fall and experts also point to Michigan or USC.

Other targets appear to be from junior college, according to Werner, including defensive lineman Tyeland Coleman (Mississippi State, Florida State also interested) and offensive lineman Jakheem Shumpert (Mississippi State interested)

Illinois might also add a high school prospect, as well, as the program has done over the last few years. For instance, last year they added Spring Valley Hall defensive back Mac Resetich, who played some key minutes this season.

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Illinois’ 2025 class currently ranks No. 49 in the nation per the 247Sports Composite. The Illini are No. 15 in the Big Ten Conference.

Illinois football recruiting class 2025

Illinois has 19 commitments in its 2025 class:

  • Brayden Trimble, 6-2, 170, WR, Mt. Zion, Illinois
  • Cameron Brooks, 6-3, 270, EDGE, Homewood-Flossmoor, Illinois
  • Grant Beerman, 6-4, 220, LB, West Chester, Ohio
  • Isaiah White, 6-3, 270, DL, Indianapolis, Indiana
  • Andre Lovett, 6-2, 180, S, Blue Island, Illinois
  • Tywan Cox, 5-11, 165, CB, Miami, Florida
  • Jershaun Newton, 6-0, 205, QB, Clearwater, Florida
  • Carson Boyd, 5-10.5, 178, QB, St. Louis, Missouri
  • JJ Hirdes, 6-5, 275, OT, Coopersville, Michigan
  • Michael McDonough, 6-3, 275, OL, Bolingbrook, Illinois
  • Logan Farrell, 6-3, 235, TE, Arlington Heights, Illinois
  • Ismael Kante, 6-2, 225, EDGE, Fort Dodge, Iowa
  • Desmond Straughton, 6-1, 192, ATH, Roseville, Michigan
  • Xanai Scott, 5-10, 180, S, West Palm Beach, Florida
  • Robert Jones III, 5-11.5, 165, CB, Vero Beach, Florida
  • Cedric Wyche, 5-9.5, 200, RB, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  • Erik Gayle, 6-3, 215, EDGE, Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Griffin Rousseau, 6-7, 305, OT, Stoughton, Wisconsin
  • Grant Smith, 6-5, 225, TE, Maroa, Illinois

When is early signing day?

The early signing day period opens Dec. 4 and closes Dec. 6.

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When is late signing day?

The late signing day opens Feb. 5 and runs through April 1 for Division I programs.



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Where to watch Iowa basketball vs. Illinois today: TV channel, time

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Where to watch Iowa basketball vs. Illinois today: TV channel, time


Iowa basketball (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten) welcomes in No. 16 Illinois (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten) to Carver-Hawkeye Arena in a top-25 conference tilt.

The 19th-ranked Hawkeyes are looking to get the taste of a frustrating road loss at Minnesota out of their mouths. Iowa trailed by as many as 14, but rallied back to take the lead in the game’s final two minutes. The Golden Gophers hit a go-ahead 3-pointer from Jaylen Crocker-Johnson and then watched as a series of potential game-tying Iowa threes wouldn’t drop in a final, frantic sequence from Williams Arena.

Illinois enters winners of four straight and six of their past seven. The Illini rolled past Rutgers on Thursday, 81-55.

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Watch Iowa vs. Illinois

Iowa owns a 57-24 all-time record against Illinois in Iowa City, though the Illini have owned the series of late. Illinois has won four straight over Iowa and nine of the past 10. That stretch of success from the Illini comes on the heels of a five-game Iowa win streak in the series from 2018-20.

As tipoff approaches, here’s how and when Hawkeye fans can watch Iowa basketball vs. Illinois:

How to watch Iowa basketball vs. Illinois

TV: Fox

Tipoff Time: 11 a.m.

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Iowa battles Illinois on Fox in its “Gold Out” game from Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Jason Benetti (play-by-play) will be joined by Steve Smith (color).

How to stream Iowa basketball vs. Illinois

Hawkeye fans can stream Iowa basketball vs. Illinois with Fubo, which offers a free trial to first-time subscribers.

Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnHawks



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Ex-husband charged in Tepe murders, held in Illinois jail

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Ex-husband charged in Tepe murders, held in Illinois jail


The ex-husband of a woman found shot to death with her current husband Dec. 30 in Columbus’ Weinland Park neighborhood has been charged with murder in the deaths.

Michael David McKee, 39, of Chicago, faces two counts of murder, according to Franklin County Municipal Court documents.

According to online court records, a warrant was issued Jan. 10 for McKee’s arrest. Winnebago County (Illinois) Sheriff’s Office records indicate he was booked into jail there shortly before noon local time. He will remain there until authorities extradite him back to Franklin County.

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Winnebago County court records show McKee is scheduled for a hearing there on Jan. 12, likely an extradition hearing to begin the process of his return to Ohio.

Monique Tepe, 39, and Spencer Tepe, 37, died Dec. 30, just after their five-year wedding anniversary, after being found shot inside their home on the 1400 block of North 4th Street in Weinland Park. The couple’s two young children, both under the age of 5, were found physically unhurt inside the home.

Columbus homicide detectives identified McKee through neighborhood video surveillance, police alleged in court documents. They tracked the suspect “to a vehicle which arrived just prior to the homicides and left shortly after.” They found the vehicle in Rockford, Illinois, and found evidence that McKee had the vehicle before and after the killings.

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Columbus police have not publicly identified a potential motive in the couple’s deaths.

In a statement released after McKee’s arrest, the Tepe family thanked Columbus police for their “tireless” work to find the suspect.

“Nothing can undo the devastating loss of two lives taken far too soon,” the Tepe family said. “We thank the community for the continued support, prayers and compassion shown throughout this tragedy. As the case proceeds, we trust the justice system to hold the person responsible fully accountable.

“Monique and Spencer remain at the center of our hearts, and we carry forward their love as we surround and protect the two children they leave behind,” the statement said. “We will continue to honor their lives and the light they brought into this world.”

McKee and Monique married in 2015, according to Franklin County Domestic Court records. She filed for divorce in May 2017 with the formal divorce decree being issued about a month later. Court filings indicate the divorce was amicable. Monique did not share any children with McKee, whom the divorce filings identify as living in Virginia at the time.

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Around 9 a.m. on Dec. 30, coworkers of Spencer’s from the dentistry office where he worked in Athens called Columbus police after Spencer did not show up for work and no one could reach Spencer or Monique by phone.

An officer went to do a well-being check but went to a home on Summit Street instead of the Tepe home, according to Columbus police body camera video. About 40 minutes after that check, friends of the Tepes found them dead in their home.

Police have focused the investigation on the window of time between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. Dec. 30, which is when they believe the couple was killed. On Jan. 5, detectives released video from a security camera showing a person walking in an alley near the Tepes’ home during that time frame, calling the person a “person of interest.”

That person is now believed to be McKee.

Medical licensure databases show McKee has active licenses in both Illinois and California. He is identified as working as a vascular surgeon in a practice in the Rockford area, the same area where his vehicle was found.

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McKee went to medical school at Ohio State University and has family in the Zanesville area, according to publicly available information.

A public visitation for the Tepes will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Jan. 11 at the Schoedinger Northwest funeral home on Zollinger Road in Upper Arlington. An additional gathering for a celebration of life will occur from 3:30 to 6 p.m. at Due Amici in Columbus.

Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com.



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Iconic Illinois House Featured in ‘Home Alone’ Set to Be Restored to ’90s Design, Project Manager Says

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Iconic Illinois House Featured in ‘Home Alone’ Set to Be Restored to ’90s Design, Project Manager Says


Home Alone fans were devastated when the house featured in the movie was recently put up for sale and the interiors didn’t match the ones seen in the 1990 classic. Now the property, which can be found in suburban Winnetka outside Chicago, is set to undergo another major renovation, this time transforming it back to […]



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