Illinois Football: Illini trying to build on Florida pipeline in 2025

Illinois football has been able to pull in some talented Florida recruits, and we are now pursuing another talented Sunshine State product.

During the Bret Bielema era, the Illini have focused on in-state recruiting. Secure commitments from players in our own backyard was a priority for the head ball coach. But Illinois still targets big-time players from across the country.

Florida has been a nice recruiting ground for the Orange and Blue. The Illini secured commitments from players like Calvin Smith and Kenarchi Wilcher from the 2023 class. We have players like Vernon Woodward and Chase Green coming in from the class of 2024.

Illinois is now starting to recruit the class of 2025, and we have already offered a scholarship to a Florida recruit. On Tuesday, Jenoa Alford took to social media to announce that he had received a scholarship offer from the Illini.

Illinois football is targeting a budding superstar in class of 2025 wide receiver Janoa Alford

Alford is a 5-foot-10, 165-pound wide receiver from University Christian High School in Florida. He isn’t rated or ranked by 247Sports just yet, but his recruitment is starting to pick up steam. In addition to the Illini offer, Alford has also been offered by teams like Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech.

Opinion

There is a lot to like about Alford’s game. He is a quick player who can play multiple roles on the field. He is someone who can run over the middle and catch passes in space. Alford can also take a jet sweep and run for miles. He has the athletic ability to do various things on the football field.

Judging by his early offers, I would assume Alford opens up as a top 1000 recruit. He is probably somewhere in the ballpark of 800-1000 nationally for 2025.

I like Illinois getting in early on Alford’s recruitment. I think there is a lot of potential with this kid. We have also had good luck with players coming out of Florida. Let’s see how his recruitment progresses over the next year or so.