Illinois Football: 5 takeaways from the Illini recruiting class of 2018

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CHAMPAIGN, IL – SEPTEMBER 09: An Illini cheerleader carries the Block I flag across the field after a touchdown during a non-conference college football game between the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the University of Illinois Fighting Illini, September 09, 2017, at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL. Illinois won, 20-7. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

The Illinois football team completed their class of 2018 on Wednesday with 24 signees on scholarship.

These players will be the building blocks for future great Illini teams. Illinois really needed to address some of the big issues with the program, and I honestly believe they filled all of the voids left by the previous coaching regime and the departing players.

According to 247Sports, Illinois finished with the No. 54 class in the nation for 2018 and the No. 12 class in the Big Ten. They have two four-star recruits signed up for 2018 and another 21 three-star players. I am not sure how Illinois ended up not cracking the top 50 considering there are teams like Indiana who didn’t land a four-star and is No. 48.

But, the rankings are a little irrelevant. They are just talking points right now. The Illini have a solid class coming in, and I am excited to see how some of these players can help the team immediately.

Lovie Smith now has two recruiting classes under his belt. His average right now is No. 50 in the nation in those two seasons with a total of two four-star recruits. The previous regime – Tim Beckman and Bill Cubit – had an average recruiting class of No. 61 in the nation for the four recruiting classes they brought in. They also only had three total four-star recruits.

Illinois still has a long way to go to get back to a bowl caliber team. The class of 2018 should help that cause tremendously, though. Here are five takeaways from the Illini recruiting class of 2018.

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