Illinois Football: Depth is building as Illini land another JUCO recruit

Illinois football continued to solidify the depth chart on Saturday with another junior college (JUCO) addition to the family.

The class of 2023 was already a solid unit coming into the weekend. The Illini had the No. 42 ranked class in the country, and that grouping only got stronger with some nice pick-ups over the last couple of days.

Laine Jenkins got the party started on Friday night. The 6-foot-6, 255-pound edge rusher decided that Oklahoma wasn’t the landing spot and instead flipped his commitment to the Illini. This was a great addition to the Illinois linebacker corps.

On Saturday, Bret Bielema was able to then help the Illinois offense with the addition of Will Leys. Leys took to social media to announce his commitment to the Illini.

The Illinois football offensive line needed more depth, and we are getting that with the commitment of Will Leys

Leys is a 6-foot-3, 285-pound interior offensive lineman who played for Saddleback College in California. He isn’t rated or ranked by 247Sports, but numerous teams were vying for his services.

Illinois is now getting this talented JUCO player who can come in and give the program snaps from day one. His experience at a higher-than-high school level is going to be invaluable for the Orange and Blue.

Opinion

As far as where Leys would be positioned on the team, I don’t see him as a starter. Illinois’ offensive front five seems to be pretty set at this point. I have Julian Pearl, Zy Crisler, Jordyn Slaughter, Isaiah Adams, and Josh Kreutz as the starters for the Illini.

The Illini needed depth, though. Leys is a perfect depth piece. He is likely to be slotted as a primary backup to one of the guard spots. He can come in if there is an injury or one of the starters needs a rest.

Some people might see the addition of Leys and not think much of it. But let me tell you, this is an underrated addition. In years past, Illinois didn’t have this type of depth. Now we have quality players in the second and third levels. That is what makes teams competitive every season.