Illinois Football: 4-star Jven Williams keeps Illini in top 7

The impact Bret Bielema has had on the Illinois football program is pretty impressive.

Bielema stepped into a situation where the Illini weren’t recruiting in-state kids, we were coming off a 2-6 record the year prior, and there wasn’t much national attention on the program in a positive way.

In just one year, Bielema has bucked those trends. Illinois is recruiting well, as we just signed a top 50 class for 2022. We were 5-7 in 2021 with four of those being Big Ten victories. And there is plenty of positive attention on our program after beating two top 25 teams on the road in three weeks.

I would make the argument that the next two steps in the Bielema process at Illinois is making a bowl game and secure upper-echelon talent. On Saturday, the Illini moved one step closer to secure some of that high-level talent.

Jven Williams took to Twitter on Saturday to announce he had cut his top list down to seven teams. The seven programs making the cut included the likes of Pittsburgh, Ole Miss, Rutgers, Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State, and Illinois.

Players like Jven Williams can take Illinois football from good to great.

This is a huge top list for the Illini to make. Bielema is a great developer of offensive linemen, and his reputation is going to help in the recruit of Williams. Snagging someone of this caliber will help put Illinois football on the map as well.

Williams is a 6-foot-4, 285-pound offensive tackle from Wyomissing High School and resides in Reading, Pennsylvania. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 69 player in the class of 2023. He is also the No. 6 offensive tackle in the nation and the best player coming out of Pennsylvania.

It is going to be extremely difficult to pull Williams out of Pennsylvania. I would assume Penn State has the advantage here, but with Bielema’s past of offensive line development, I wouldn’t count the Illini out.

Watching Williams play the game is extremely fun too. His run blocking ability opens holes a semi could drive through. He is just such a monster and can plow over the defensive linemen at the high school level. Williams gives full effort in each play as well, even if the play is not coming to his side. That is what I like to see.

The framework for Williams to be an All-American caliber offensive lineman is there. If Illinois can secure his commitment, there is no telling how good we could be in the future.