Illinois Football: In-state edge rusher gets Illini Crystal Ball Prediction

Illinois football is starting to pick up some steam in the recruiting game for 2023.

On Wednesday, the Illini received a pledge from four-star athlete, Kaden Feagin. He was the first commitment for the Orange and Blue for the class of 2023.

While Feagin is a great get and the highest-rated recruit in the Bret Bielema era thus far, Illinois is going to need other talented players to join him. That could be happening relatively soon, as the Illini are projected to land another 2023 recruit.

Just a day after Illinois received the commitment from Feagin, the Illini also received a Crystal Ball Prediction to land in-state edge rusher, Pat Farrell. 247Sports’ Jeremy Werner put the prediction in with a confidence of five out of 10.

Illinois football keeps making a push for in-state commitments in 2023.

It is exciting that Werner has a Crystal Ball Prediction in for Farrell, but a five out of 10 isn’t great confidence, so there is clearly more recruiting work left to do for the Illinois coaching staff.

I believe Bielema and his coaching staff can close the deal, though. They already have Feagin, who is a top 300 recruit and one of the top five players in the state of Illinois. The Illini also have two Crystal Ball Predictions on the table right now, Farrell and Antwon Hayden. That means Illinois is the favorite or has already landed three of the top 26 in-state recruits.

When Bielema came into the program, he said he wanted to focus on in-state recruiting. His actions are speaking louder than his words right now, and that makes me happy as a fan.

There are quite a few in-state recruits still left on the board too. One of the biggest fishes still left in the pond is Miles McVay. Illinois still seems to be in his recruitment but with the traditional powers calling, I feel like he might head elsewhere.

Malik Elzy would be a nice addition to the team. He is a top 300 recruit and a big wide receiver. A few more names to watch would be Roderick Pierce and Brandon Henderson. Both of these in-state recruits are taking an official visit on June 3.

Illinois still has a long way to go to complete the class of 2023. Look for the Orange and Blue to pick up more Crystal Ball Predictions in the near future.