Illinois Football: Illini reportedly favorites for top 5 in-state 2023 recruit

Illinois football head coach Bret Bielema and the coaching staff could drastically turn the momentum for in-state recruiting by landing this four-star recruit.

According to Rivals.com’s FutureCast, the Illini are reportedly the favorite to land four-star athlete Jyaire Hill, who is one of the most versatile players in the nation.

The prediction for Rivals is coming from Josh Henschke. He is the Publisher of the Rivals page, Maize & Blue Review. He flipped his prediction from Michigan as Hill’s landing spot to Illinois on June 21. The fact the head of a Michigan website thinks Illinois is going to be the landing spot is a pretty big deal.

Hill is a 6-foot-1, 170-pound athlete at Kankakee High School in Illinois. He is ranked as the No. 162 player in the country and No. 5 in the state of Illinois for the class of 2023.  The Illinois product has racked up 24 other offers from programs including Auburn, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Oklahoma, and others.

Michigan seems to be a big player in Hill’s recruitment according to 247Sports’ expert Steve Lorenz, who is 476 of 622 (75%) for his 2023 predictions. He predicted Hill to Michigan, but that prediction was also back in December.

Jyaire Hill continues to show why he would be a huge addition to the Illinois football team.

Hill played a significant role in Kankakee’s 14-1 state championship runner-up season.  Playing both sides of the ball, the Kankakee standout scored 16 touchdowns and snagged a team-high nine interceptions for the Kays. He also finished among the team’s top five with his 36 rushing yards per game, 4.3 tackles per game, and six forced fumbles.

By season’s end, Hill’s dominating play did not go unnoticed. He earned 2021 Class 5A IHSFCA All-State and All-Conference honors.

Hill has been showcasing his talents this offseason as well – being named MVP of the ESPN 300 Elite Underclassmen Camp.

With a commitment, Hill would be the second-highest ranked commit for Illinois’ 2023 class and the No. 27 highest-ranked recruit in Illinois football history. A commitment would also make the Orange and Blue a bigger player in the recruitment of his brother, three-star athlete, Naz Hill.

There is no timetable for Hill’s decision.