Illinois Football: First Illini commit for 2024 should get fans excited

Bret Bielema has built a winning culture within the Illinois football program.

That winning culture for the Illini is not only seeing success on the field, but this culture is also helping when it comes to recruiting.

Bielema entered the scene in 2021, so his first recruiting class was the class of 2022. The Illini were able to pull in the No. 46 ranked class in the nation that year. A top 50 class was a rarity before Bielema took the reins.

Could our head coach follow that top 50 class in 2022 up with another top 50 group in 2023? The answer is inching toward, yes. Illinois currently sits with the No. 47 class in the country for 2023 after top-1000 recruit Brandon Henderson pledged to the Illini back on November 15.

I think it is fair to say that the Illini have some good recruiting momentum. The momentum that has built up from the 2022 and 2023 classes is now flowing over to the class of 2024. On Tuesday, Brandon Hansen decided to end his recruitment and commit to Illinois.

Hansen is a 6-foot-6, 290-pound offensive tackle from Mundelein Cons High School in Mundelein, Illinois. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 633 player in the class of 2024. He is also the No. 48 offensive tackle in the nation and the No. 18 player coming out of Illinois.

Brandon Hansen is a great start to the Illinois football class of 2024.

There are multiple reasons to be excited about the Hansen commitment. I think landing a player for 2024 should get Illini Nation pumped. We are a team that can land players in future classes and not just the class we are currently on.

I think Illinois fans should love the fact that we just landed a top 1000 recruit as the first player to commit for 2024. That is a pretty big deal considering, in the past, not a ton of top players wanted to come to Illinois. Now we are landing that caliber of player for the future.

Illinois landing an in-state player is also important. Bret Bielema wanted to win the state of Illinois, and he has been holding true to his words. The fact Hansen is a top 1000 recruit and is only the No. 18 player in the state of Illinois shows how much in-state talent there is for 2024.

Lastly, can we talk about the potential Illinois has on the offensive line? Bielema’s impact on the hogs up front is exciting. We are developing the talent that was already on the team, and there are so many high-level offensive linemen joining the fight. I can’t wait to see what Hansen can do in this mix.

This is a big commitment for the Illinois football program. We are now on the board for 2024. The first two classes for Bielema will likely land in the top 50, so maybe we can reach higher and land a top 40 class for 2024. The sky is the limit.