Illinois Football: 4-star in-state recruit keeps Illini in top 7

Illinois football has done some impressive work on the recruiting trail since Bret Bielema took over, and that trend isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

As of right now, the Illini have the No. 35 ranked class for 2023. This would be the highest-ranked class to come into Champaign since the Ron Zook era. The top two players in the class are Malik Elzy and Kaden Feagin, both of whom are in-state recruits.

While Bielema and his coaching staff are nearing the close of the class of 2023, they are also focusing on securing commitments for 2024. Illinois already has a commitment for the upcoming class, with offensive lineman Brandon Hansen pledging back in late November. He is another in-state commitment, hailing from Mundelein, Illinois.

Securing a commitment from Hansen was a good way to start off the class of 2024, and now Illinois is squarely in the mix for another in-state recruit who could really boost the class.

On Tuesday, I’Marion Stewart released his top seven schools. Among the programs making the cut included Tennessee, Oregon, Ole Miss, Michigan, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Illinois.

It will be a fight for the Illinois football team to land I’Marion Stewart for 2024.

The list that Stewart put together is quite impressive. There is a reason so many big-time programs want this kid. Stewart is a 6-foot-1, 180-pound athlete from Bolingbrook High School in Illinois. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 264 player in the class of 2024. He is also the No. 31 athlete in the nation and the No. 5 player coming out of the state of Illinois.

Wherever Stewart lands, he is going to be playing wide receiver. Illinois looks to have plans for Stewart to be a featured part of the offense, as wide receivers coach George McDonald is his main recruiter.

The Illini have been recruiting Stewart for quite some time, but with the coaching change comes new relationships. Illinois had to reoffer a scholarship to Stewart back in May 2022. The fact that we got into the race this late shows you the Illinois coaching staff’s impact on making his top seven.

But there is clearly one leader in the clubhouse right now. Michigan came in with an offer to Stewart back in April 2022, and since then, he has visited the program three times. He took unofficial visits to Michigan in July, September, and October. And, according to EJ Holland of On3, Stewart is going to make another visit to Ann Arbor soon.

While it may seem like a long shot at this point, I am not giving up hope that Illinois can make up some ground. McDonald is a great recruiter, and it wouldn’t shock me to see him land Stewart.

McDonald has been credited with securing commitments from a plethora of top 1000 recruits Illinois has landed in the past couple of classes. He was able to flip Eian Pugh from Cincinnati, who was ranked as the No. 767 player in the class of 2022. McDonald was also the lead recruiter for Collin Dixon (No. 802), Shawn Miller (No. 710), Elijah Mc-Cantos (No. 691), and Kenari Wilcher (No. 691).

The most impressive recruit McDonald was able to land came in the past couple of weeks. During the All-American Bowl, wide receiver Malik Elzy announced his commitment to the Illini. He is the No. 239 player in the class of 2023. He is also out of Simeon High School in Chicago.

Illinois is starting to pull in some pretty impressive playmaking talent. The fact we secured a top 300 recruit from the state of Illinois in 2023 is important. Being able to land a player like Elzy gives me hope that Stewart is not out of the question. It will be a tough road ahead, though.