Illinois Football: Illini building front lines with 2024 commitment

The Illinois football team added to the family on Thursday night.

This weekend is big for the present and future of the Illini. The spring game was pushed back to Friday night due to inclement weather, but this is a chance to see what we have a few months before the 2023 campaign kicks off.

It is also a big recruiting weekend for the Orange and Blue. Numerous recruits are in town to check out the program, and there are a few official visitors as well. One of the visitors took a shine to the Illini and made a big pledge to the program.

On Thursday night, Angelo McCullom took to social media to announce that he was committing to Illinois. He chose the Illini over at least nine other scholarship offers he had on the table.

Angelo McCullom commitment shows the Illinois football team is building from the inside out

The McCullom commitment was big for the Illini. He is a 6-foot-3, 260-pound defensive lineman from Pickerington North High School in Ohio. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 742 player in the class of 2024. McCullom is also the No. 76 defensive lineman in the country and the No. 28 player coming out of Ohio.

With the way McCullom is built and the way he plays the game, I see him playing on the Illinois defensive line. I don’t see him shifting positions much. I also don’t believe he will be on the nose. He is going to be more of an edge rusher.

The start of the class of 2024 has Bret Bielema’s fingerprints all over it. He is a build-from-the-inside-out type of coach, and now we have two commitments for 2024 who are both on the front lines.

McCullom, who will likely play on the defensive line, now joins Brandon Hansen for the 2024 class. Hansen is a three-star recruit who is likely to play offensive tackle for the Orange and Blue.

Without good front lines, nothing else can work well. We saw how well the Illini can perform when the offensive line plays well. Chase Brown was a serious Heisman Trophy option for a little while this past season, and our defense was getting pressure on the quarterback consistently. That is what solid line play can do for a team.

I love this addition for the Illini. A top 1000 player is a big get. If we can continue building our class of 2024 with more guys like this, then we are going to have another top-50 class.