Illinois Football: Illini beats out Miami and Northwestern for in-state star

After a big recruiting weekend, another commitment has rolled in for the Illinois football program.

The last 24 hours have been quite the ride. It all started with Demetrius John pledging his commitment to the Illini on Sunday evening. Then Easton Baker decided to say yes to the Orange and Blue on Sunday night.

Both John and Baker are talented defensive players who will help the Illinois front seven early on in their careers. But Bret Bielema and the Illini coaching clearly want to load up on that side of the ball.

On Monday afternoon, Eddie Tuerk took to social media to announce that he too was joining John and Baker in announcing a commitment to Illinois. Tuerk is a massive get for the Illini and is one of the best in-state recruits.

Eddie Tuerk is the type of player the Illinois football team used to let slip through the cracks

Tuerk is a 6-foot-4, 280-pound defensive lineman from Lyons Township High School in Illinois. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 481 player in the class of 2024. He is also the No. 45 defensive lineman in the country and the No. 11 player in the state of Illinois.

This was a big commitment for Illinois. Tuerk took an official visit to Champaign this past weekend, but the Illini weren’t the only team he had been eyeing. Tuerk visited Northwestern the weekend before and Miami (FL) was going to be this upcoming weekend.

Opinion

I would probably put the Tuerk recruiting win up there in the top five of Bielema’s time with the Illini thus far. This was a recruit that I thought we would end up losing to another program.

I felt this way mainly due to the previous coaching staff. Illinois would lose top in-state talent, especially on the defensive side of the ball. A player like Tuerk has usually been picking teams like Northwestern or Miami (FL) instead of Illinois.

This is another sign that Bielema has turned Illinois around completely. The recruiting wins continue to pile up, and this one is right up there with the best of the best. Tuerk is going to be a starter early on in his career, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.