Illinois Football: Illini in the top five for 2023 4-star defensive back

The Illinois football program is still in the running for some big-time recruits who are left on the board for 2023.

I have been impressed with what the Illini coaching staff have done thus far. We currently have 22 commitments, which don’t include three transfers from other programs.

The freshman class that is coming in has a ranking of No. 43 in the country. With the three transfers, the composite ranking is No. 46 in the nation. That is a solid group of players coming into a rising program. But we aren’t done adding talent to the roster.

As mentioned above, there are still some big fish to catch. One of those big fish could end up being in-state superstar, Jyaire Hill.

Hill is a 6-foot-1, 170-pound cornerback from Kankakee High School in Illinois. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 194 player in the class of 2023. He is also the No. 23 cornerback in the nation and the No. 2 player coming out of Illinois.

On Monday, Hill made a big announcement. He posted on Twitter that he was making a commitment on Wednesday, December 21, at his high school at 3:00 p.m. CT. He will be deciding between Kentucky, Purdue, Missouri, Florida, and Illinois.

It will be a tough fight for the Illinois football team to land Jyaire Hill.

It is amazing that the Illini are in the running for Hill. He would be a great addition to the Illinois roster, but it might end up being a stretch for Illinois to land this kid.

At one time, the Illini seemed like the favorite to secure Hill’s commitment. There were multiple “experts” who thought Illinois was going to be his landing spot. But that momentum seems to have turned a little bit.

Michigan is now the projected landing spot according to two different pickers on Rivals. These predictions came on December 18, so they are recent. There is also an updated pick on 247Sports that has Steve Wiltfong, the director of football recruiting, picking the Wolverines as Hill’s landing spot.

So, all momentum seems to be in favor of Michigan. I think another sneaky option is Purdue. Since Ryan Walters departed for the Boilermakers, it seems that they are now in the mix. I don’t remember Purdue ever being a part of Hill’s decision-making.

Does Illinois still have a chance at landing Hill? Sure, we are in his top five as of right now. Do I think the Illini will land Hill? No, I think we have been losing ground over the past couple of months, and now his primary recruiter, Walters, is at Purdue.