It was a crazy start to the week for the Illinois football program when it comes to recruiting.
From Sunday through Monday, the Illini were able to land six commitments for the class of 2024. The defense was able to reload with some great talent like Eddie Tuerk and Easton Baker, while the offense added some key recruits such as Zafir Stewart and Carlos Orr.
With the commitments to begin the week, Illinois now sits with the No. 42 ranked class in the country. This is a massive jump from the sub-60 ranked class we had just days ago.
Bret Bielema and the Illinois coaching staff aren’t done yet, though. There are still plenty of big fish to catch, and one of them is visiting soon.
On Monday, in-state star Marquise Lightfoot took to social media to announce that he had cut his list down to just six programs. The six teams he kept in the running for his commitment included Georgia, Alabama, USC, Ohio State, Miami (FL), and Illinois.
Top 6‼️ @bondedits15 @AllenTrieu @Rivals_Clint pic.twitter.com/9TYTCEfE2N
— Marquise Lightfoot🔩 (@MarquiseL01) June 12, 2023
This cut came on the heels of Lightfoot taking an official visit to Ohio State this past weekend. According to 247Sports, he has two more official visits scheduled. Lightfoot will be taking an official visit to USC on June 16 and then he will be at Miami on June 26.
On Tuesday, the Writing Illini was able to chat with Lightfoot about his upcoming plans and if Illinois is involved. He was able to confirm with us that he is going to be taking an official visit to Champaign.
“Illinois will be another visit I will be taking in June,” Lightfoot told the Writing Illini, “should be mid-week next week.”
Lightfoot was also able to confirm that this was an official visit.
Illinois football seems to still be squarely in the mix for 2024 superstar Marquise Lightfoot
The fact Illinois is getting one of the final two official visits from Lightfoot is big for the program, as he isn’t just one of the top players in the state of Illinois but one of the top players in the country.
Lightfoot is a 6-foot-5, 220-pound edge from Kenwood Academy in Illinois. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 70 player in the class of 2024. He is also the No. 6 edge in the country and the No. 3 player coming out of Illinois.
Opinion
Landing a player like Lightfoot would send shockwaves throughout the college football recruiting landscape. Illinois hasn’t been competitive for this type of recruit for a long time.
If Lightfoot were to pick Illinois, he would be the eight-highest-rated recruit to come to Champaign in the ranking’s era. Lightfoot would also be the highest-rated recruit Illinois has landed since Terry Hawthorne back in 2009.
Bielema has worked some magic in the past, but this is big game fishing right here. While there are multiple pundits who are projecting Lightfoot to land with Ohio State, the Illini are not out of this yet. Let’s see how the next couple of weeks play out.