Illinois Football: 2022 Florida wide receiver keeps Illini in top 5

To be competitive nationally, the Illinois football program needs to bring in talented depth throughout their roster.

I have been impressed with Bret Bielema’s start to the class of 2022. He has eight commitments so far and a national recruiting rank of No. 28. If that number holds, it would be the best recruiting class since the Ron Zook days. With the way things are going on the recruiting front, it wouldn’t shock me to see that number hold. On Saturday, Illinois found themselves on another top list.

In a post on Twitter, Aidan Gousby posted a video graphic of his top five list. The top five teams that are still vying for his commitment include the likes of Purdue, Louisville, Minnesota, Iowa State and Illinois. This is a great top list to make, but it will be a tough group of programs to beat.

Gousby is a wanted player because of how talented he is on the football field. He is a 6-foot-2, 185-pound wide receiver from Lehigh Senior High School and resides in Lehigh Acres, Florida. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 960 player in the class of 2022. He is also the No. 127 wide receiver in the nation and the No. 131 player coming out of the state of Florida.

Illinois football would add to their deep wide receiver room with the addition of Gousby.

There is no such thing as too much depth at one position. Illinois is going from a tremendous lack of depth at wide receiver to one of the deepest wide receiver rooms I have ever seen in program history.

Isaiah Williams and Marquez Beason, both former four-star recruits, are now wide receivers. They are lightning quick and ready to take this Illini offense to new heights. Both athletes are just freshmen as well.

Brian Hightower is back for his junior year, so we still have two more seasons so him in an Illini uniform. I am excited about freshman James Frenchie and what he can do on the field. There is so much talent right now out wide.

Illinois is only losing one player after this season from the wide receiver corps and that is Desmond Dan, who really hasn’t played much for the Illini since transferring in. So, the depth is going to be insane come 2022.

Adding Gousby would be big for the Illinois football program. He wouldn’t see a ton of time in year one, but there is room for him to work his way up and become a starter by 2023 or 2024. Let’s continue building out the depth at every position.