Illinois Football: Winning gives boost to Illini recruiting

Illinois football has struggled in the past when it has come to recruiting.

The first recruiting class for Bret Bielema, the class of 2022, was a solid haul. The Illini secured a top 50 group and brought in some important pieces for the future.

But without winning the field, it is hard to convince talented players to come to Champaign. I mean, we haven’t had more than seven wins, including bowl games, since the 2007 campaign. It is a tough ask to have players come to a place that doesn’t win often.

Bielema has brought winning to Illinois, though. I always felt this place was a sleeping giant, and it seems that Bielema has awakened that giant. After a positive 5-7 campaign in year one, Illinois is now 6-1 and has the solo lead in the Big Ten West.

Winning is helping the Illinois football team recruit top talent.

Illinois is now bowl-eligible in year two of the Bielema regime. The program has had their best start since 2011, and there is only positive momentum right now with everything associated with the Illini.

The winning ways of Bielema have not only revved up a fanbase wanting a winner, but it has also helped tremendously with recruiting.

Illinois’ class of 2023 had a good start. They were ranked inside the top 60 nationally with numerous spots still open. There were also a handful or so of recruits left on the board who could take this class from good to great quickly.

Well, those recruits either departed or were not committing to Illinois just yet. But I attribute the winning to what has happened in the past week.

The first big domino to fall was Malik Elzy reopening his recruitment. Elzy is a four-star wide receiver who had Illinois as one of his top two teams, but he would ultimately choose Cincinnati as his landing spot. Elzy is now available again, and Illinois should be in the running.

Illinois then added junior college offensive lineman Dez’Mond Schuster to the mix. He is an under-the-radar blocker who is going to do wonders for the Illini offensive line. He committed to Illinois last Thursday.

And then we had the commitment of Saboor Karriem. Karriem picked the Illini over Duke, but his official visits were back in the summer. This wasn’t a lock by any means, but with the way Illinois has started this season, I think that might have pushed him over the edge.

Players are okay with coming to Illinois. They just needed to see that we can win on the football field. They don’t want to come to Illinois and have their careers wasted because we are below average. Bielema has proved that this program can win games.