Illinois Football: Illini targeting Wisconsin offensive lineman for 2024

Bret Bielema now coaches the Illinois football program, but he is still trying to reach up into the state of Wisconsin when it comes to recruiting.

The Illini bringing Bielema on as the head coach has been great for the team. He has brought stability and what I believe is a floor to the program. This team isn’t going to bottom out too hard. I think a season of 2-10 or 3-9 won’t be happening anytime soon.

That stability that Bielema has brought to Champaign affects various parts of the program. One area it affects is recruiting. Illinois had the No. 46 ranked class in the country in 2022. Cracking the top 50 in his first recruiting class is something that Illini fans should be excited about.

I am hoping future recruiting classes turn out solid as well. The 2023 class is currently ranked No. 57 in the country. That number will surely rise. We have yet to land anyone for the class of 2024, though. That is going to change in the coming year. One interesting option for the 2024 class is Nathan Roy.

Roy is a 6-foot-5, 265-pound offensive tackle from Mukwonago High School and resides in Mukwonago, Wisconsin. He isn’t rated or ranked just yet, but I would bet this kid ends up being a top 1000 recruit when it is all said and done.

On Saturday, Roy took to Twitter to announce that Illinois had come in with a scholarship offer. The Illini now join a mix of roughly six other programs to extend an offer to Roy. Some of the other programs include Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota, and Penn State.

Nathan Roy would be a great addition to the Illinois football program.

The reason I say Roy is likely to be a top 1000 recruit is based on the fact he has some big-time Big Ten offers on the table right now. That shows me there are plenty of teams that see a lot of potential in this kid.

It also shows me that Roy’s recruitment is about to blow up. He is only a junior, so there is another year of him on the field showing the recruiters what he can do. It wouldn’t shock me to see him with north of 20 scholarship offers when his recruitment is finished.

There is a good reason Roy is starting to get more and more recruiting attention. His mentality on the football field is amazing. He is just looking for a player to hit on every play. Roy wants the contact. He wants to blow a hole wide open for his running back. He is going to be a menace at the next level.

I love this offer by Illinois. Bielema is getting in on Roy’s recruitment early. Knowing the connections Bielema has in the state of Wisconsin, Illinois could end up making some noise in this recruitment. Let’s see how this plays out.