Illinois Football: Illini wide receiver corps got taller over the weekend

It was another big official visit weekend for the Illinois football program, and the first commitment domino fell on Sunday evening.

Coming into the weekend, the Illini had 11 commitments for 2024 and a ranking of No. 42 in the country. While most of the recruits who visited this past weekend were from the 2024 class, Illinois also had a few who were eyeing the program from the class of 2023.

Illinois’ class of 2023 also has a national ranking of No. 42 in the country. This special group of players got even stronger over the weekend, as the Illini added another wide receiver to the mix.

On Sunday evening, Alex Capka-Jones took to social media to announce that he has ended his recruitment and will commit to Illinois.

Illinois football has added another big wide receiver target in Alex Capka-Jones

Capka-Jones is a 6-foot-4, 180-pound wide receiver from Moorpark College in California. He isn’t rated or ranked by 247Sports, but he did have a solid sophomore campaign at Moorpark.

Despite having a quarterback room that only completed 54.1% of its passes, Capka-Jones excelled with the Raiders. He would finish last season with 36 receptions for a team-high 541 yards and six touchdowns. Illinois is now getting that solid production.

Opinion

Illinois is starting to put together a talented wide receiver room and a big one. While some of our best pass catchers, like Isaiah Williams, are below 6-foot tall, we are starting to load up on some tall wide receivers for the future.

Capka-Jones is a 6-foot-4 monster who has a chance to see snaps from day one. Illinois also has Ashton Hollins, Pat Bryant, Eian Pugh, Casey Washington, Malik Elzy, and Collin Dixon who are all 6-foot-2 or taller.

Bret Bielema has brought in some solid quarterback talent who will need help on the outside. We are pairing those quarterbacks up with some big-time targets. I love the addition of Capka-Jones.