Illinois Football: Crystal Ball in favor of Illini for JUCO edge rusher

Illinois football might be in line to flip a talented junior college (JUCO) defensive player for the class of 2023.

Bret Bielema and the Illini coaching staff have put together one of the best recruiting classes in the past 15 years. The class of 2023 ranks No. 42 in the country. This group of players is led by recruits like Kaden Feagin and Mailk Elzy, both in-state recruits who rank inside the top 400 nationally.

This class also has a number of JUCO commitments. Kaleb Patterson is going to help the Illinois secondary while a player like Dez’Mond Schuster will help stabilize the offensive line.

Illinois isn’t finished with what we have on the board right now for 2023. We could be in line to land another talented JUCO player on the defensive side of the ball.

On Sunday, Jeremy Werner of 247Sports put in a Crystal Ball Predication that Illinois will land JUCO edge rusher, Laine Jenkins. This would be a big snag for the Orange and Blue, as Jenkins is currently listed as a commit for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Laine Jenkins would add to the Illinois football team’s dangerous front seven

The prediction submitted by Werner is just a five out of 10, but the fact there is a prediction is promising. My guess is that the prediction is coming from the rumors that Jenkins, who committed to Oklahoma on May 16, was going to take an official visit to Illinois. There are rumors that Brent Venables, the Sooners’ head coach, pulled Jenkins’ offer. Again, that has been floated around in the social media world, but nothing has been confirmed or denied.

No matter what happened or happens, it is exciting that the Illini might be involved here. Jenkins is a talented player who could help bring more depth to an already dangerous front seven for the program.

Jenkins just finished up his freshman campaign with Butler Community College, where he played in five games and had eight tackles and 1.5 sacks. The Willowbrook, Illinois native and Neuqua Valley High School alum – shoutout Mike Dudek – still has three years of eligibility remaining. He is someone who, with his 6-foot-6, 255-pound frame, could be molded into a pretty good DI player.

I am curious how Illinois would use Jenkins early on as well. At 255 pounds, he is kind of small for what we want on the defensive line. I mean Keith Randolph Jr. and Johnny Newton are going to be anchoring the Illinois defensive line this season, and they are listed at 305 pounds and 295 pounds, respectively.

Jenkins would probably shift to the outside linebacker designation for the Illini. He would be a lengthy outside linebacker, which would be great for covering the slot or tight end. At 6-foot-6, Jenkins would be a menace floating around the field.

Hopefully, Illinois can end up flipping Jenkins and bringing him back home. Getting a nice depth piece with experience would be a great help.