Illinois Football: 4-star recruit deciding between Illini and Purdue

A big commitment is going down on Monday night, and the Illinois football team is one of the top teams.

Overall, this past weekend went well for the Illini. We had a ton of talent visit the program and there were two players who have already made commitments to the Orange and Blue.

Demetrius John was the first domino to fall from the weekend. The defensive end is a top 1000 recruit and someone who is going to make an impact on the program early on. The other commitment was from Easton Baker. He is an extremely underrated linebacker who will have a chance to see early snaps in his Illinois career.

There will inevitably be more commitments come out of this official visit weekend. Illinois has the potential to land another pledge on Monday, as we are now one of the programs Luke Williams has warmed up to.

On Sunday, Williams took to social media to announce that he would be making a commitment on Monday. The commitment will come at 6:00 p.m. CT. Williams will be deciding between Illinois and Purdue.

Luke Williams is the first big recruiting battle between the Illinois football team and former defensive coordinator Ryan Walters

Williams is a 6-foot-1, 174-pound wide receiver from Naperville North High School in Illinois. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 429 player in the class of 2024. He is also the No. 61 wide receiver in the country and the No. 10 player coming out of Illinois.

Bret Bielema has his hands full in this recruitment. Illinois is going up against our former defensive coordinator, Ryan Walters, and his coaching staff, which is comprised of multiple former Illinois coaches. Williams’ commitment will be the first big recruiting win for one of these two sides.

Opinion

Landing Williams is extremely important for the Illinois football program. You have the Bielema vs. Walters battle, but I also think this is a big recruitment for the Illini offense.

Williams is a four-star wide receiver. We already have Trey Petty, a top 900 recruit, coming in at quarterback in the class of 2024. He would pair well with Williams in the future.

This would also be the second year in a row that Illinois has been able to land an in-state four-star wide receiver. We were able to snag Malik Elzy out of Simeon High School in the class of 2023.

Monday night is big for the Illini. If we land Williams, it would help boost the class of 2024 to another level. Let’s see how it plays out for the Orange and Blue.