Illinois Football: 3-star offensive lineman receives Illini Crystal Ball Prediction

The mid-year recruiting cycle is heating up, and the Illinois football team finds themselves in the middle of the action.

With three players already committed for 2023, the Illini are looking to build one of the top recruiting classes in the country. Just about a week ago, there was a Crystal Ball Prediction put in for Dante Barone. He is a defensive lineman who would help the program tremendously. It looks like even more predictions are starting to come in in favor of the Illini.

On Wednesday, there were two different Crystal Ball Predictions put in for Illinois to land 2023 offensive lineman, Zach Aamland. He will be taking an official visit to Champaign on the weekend of June 3, so hopefully, this is a prediction that will come true in the coming weeks.

Aamland already has a ton of recruiting attention as well. In addition to the Illinois official visit, he also has visits scheduled to Pittsburgh and West Virginia. This recruiting attention comes for a good reason. Aamland is a rising star in the high school ranks. He is currently a

three-star recruit

who is ranked as the No. 93 offensive tackle in the nation and the No. 21 player coming out of New Jersey.

Zach Aamland would bring a ton of size upfront for the Illinois football program.

I know the rankings don’t jump off the page when talking about Aamland. 247Sports doesn’t have him nationally ranked just yet, but just purely based on the size of the kid, I am excited to see what he could form into on the offensive line.

Aamland is entering the college ranks at 6-foot-6, 285-pounds. That is a monster at the high school level, and I would imagine he only gets bigger and stronger with a college training program like the one at Illinois.

The main thing that sticks out to me about Aamland’s game is his willingness to find a defender and make a block. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but Aamland clearly just wants to hit someone. He doesn’t just stand around. This kid has the drive to get into the body of his man, and that is what I want on the Illinois offensive line.

I also want to add that I like Aamland’s ability to pull. This will make him more versatile at the next level because he could be used at either the tackle or guard position for the Illini.

I am always excited when Illinois is predicted to land an offensive lineman. Bret Bielema has a great ability to develop players on the offensive line, and Aamland could be the next great player he sends to the NFL.