Illinois Football: 4-star class of 2024 recruit locks in Illini official visit

A four-star recruit is eyeing the Illinois football program, and he will now be taking an official visit.

The class of 2024 has started well for the Illini, as we have three commitments thus far. The newest pledge, three-star quarterback Trey Petty, is the best gunslinger coming out of the state of Mississippi. As of right now, Illinois checks in with the No. 62 class in the country.

Bret Bielema and the Illinois coaching staff are nowhere near finished with the 2024 class. There are still plenty of scholarships to fill and plenty of big-time talent still needing a home. One of those players still looking for a landing spot is Jeremiah Beasley.

On Monday, 247Sports published multiple official visits for Beasley. He has two on the schedule right now with the first being to Illinois on June 9. He will then head to Missouri on June 23.

Illinois football would be landing a big fish if we can secure a commitment from the class of 2024’s Jeremiah Beasley

It is pretty impressive that Illinois can secure an official visit from Beasley. The Midwest is full of good programs, and the Illini are one that is front of mind for this talented linebacker.

Beasley has a wide range of scholarship offers. As of right now, he has roughly 26 offers on the table, and for good reason. Coming out of Belleville High School in Michigan, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound linebacker is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 154 player in the class of 2024. He is also the No. 13 linebacker in the country and the No. 4 player coming of Michigan.

247Sports has six “experts” picking where Beasley will land; three have him going to Michigan State and the other three have him going to Michigan.

Roster evaluation

I see Beasley as more of an edge guy, so I think he would be an outside linebacker in the Illinois 3-4 defense.

The main reason I would want Beasley in this role is due to the fact he is quick. As a dual running back and linebacker in high school, Beasley was dominant on both sides of the ball. He can rush the quarterback well and chase down the ball carrier.

I think Beasley would be good in coverage too. When a big tight end drops off or a quick slot receiver gets out in space, Beasley can use his speed to run them down or keep up with them. That is going to be valuable.

Illinois doesn’t have much depth at outside linebacker, but the players we have on the roster are highly talented.

Gabe Jacas is coming off one of the best freshman campaigns I have ever seen from an Illinois football player. He would be a junior when Beasley would enter the program. I would imagine that would be his final season in Champaign. Seth Coleman would be gone after the 2024 campaign as well.

I like some of the young guys Illinois recruited in the past couple of classes. Jared Badie has a ton of potential, and Trey Smith was a solid pick-up from the class of 2023. I am also curious how Alec Bryant develops after transferring from Virginia Tech.

Overall, there is a lot of uncertainty with the outside linebacker position starting with the 2025 campaign. It would be nice to get a player like Beasley into the program so he can start developing. With his talent and lack of depth, Beasley would see snaps in year one and would be starting by year two. I think that could be his career arc.