Illinois Football: Breakdown of the Illini class of 2023

Sleeper recruits

• Nathan Guinn

I am excited to see what the Illinois football team will look like in 2023. We had a successful campaign in 2022, but Bret Bielema is starting to get his players into the program. Someone I would watch as a potential sleeper in the class of 2023 is Nathan Guinn.

Guinn is a 6-foot-5, 220-pound tight end out of Vero Beach High School in Florida. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 1816 player in the class of 2023. He is also the No. 82 tight end in the country and the No. 262 player coming out of Florida.

Illinois’ tight end depth took a hit after the 2022 season concluded. Lead man Tip Reiman is back for his junior year, but Michael Marchese and Luke Ford have both departed. Illinois is going to need depth. After enrolling early, Guinn has a chance to show the Illini coaching staff his abilities in spring practice. I don’t know how much playing time he will get in year one, but look for Guinn to be a staple on the Illinois depth chart in the first couple of years.

• Dez’Mond Schuster

Getting offensive linemen into the program and creating depth is important. The Illinois coaching staff knows this, and they have done a good job building out the roster. They were also able to land Dez’Mond Schuster to help with the depth issues.

Schuster is a 6-foot-5, 311-pound offensive lineman out of Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 51 JUCO player in the class of 2023. He is also the No. 2 JUCO interior offensive lineman in the country and the No. 15 JUCO player coming out of Kansas.

I mentioned in an earlier slide that Illinois losing two starters from the offensive line. Some of the guys who are going to be starting this season will be seniors or potential draft picks in 2024. So, Illinois needs more depth for when that happens. Having Schuster come in and fill some depth issues is huge. Not a lot of people are talking about him, but look for Schuster to make multiple starts over the next couple of seasons.

• Zachary Tobe

It is impressive how many players Illinois is going to put into the NFL Draft this year, but this also means we have lost a lot of talent. The Illini secondary took the biggest hit. I think Zachary Tobe will help fill in the missing pieces, though.

Tobe is a 6-foot-1, 175-pound safety from Ocoee High School in Florida. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 980 player in the class of 2023. He is also the No. 85 safety in the country and the No. 139 player coming out of the state of Florida.

Sydney Brown is the biggest hit Illinois took at safety. He is going to be picked in the draft. Kendall Smith is also gone. We have some good pieces like Matthew Bailey and Xavier Scott, who both showed promise at the end of the season, but there is plenty of room for someone like Tobe to make an early impact. Look for this borderline top 1000 recruit to see action early.