4-star linebacker keeps Illinois football in top 6

The class of 2026 started off with a bang for the Illinois football program.

While the 2025 class is still waiting to be closed up over the next couple of months, the class of 2026 has already begun for the Illini.

Back on November 10, Illinois landed its first commitment for the 2026 group. Quarterback Michael Clayton picked the Orange and Blue. The high-three-star recruit out of Florida is a great addition to the program and is someone who could see snaps early on in his career.

Bret Bielema did a great job with the first commitment for the class of 2026, and now he is eyeing another potential big-time addition.

On Tuesday, Cam Thomas took to social media to announce that he has cut his top list down to just six teams. The six programs to make his top list included Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, Michigan, and Illinois.

Whoever lands Thomas is getting a great talent. He is a 6-foot-2, 217-pound linebacker from Lakota West High School in Ohio. Thomas is rated as a four-star recruit who is ranked as the No. 262 player in the class of 2026. He is also the No. 21 linebacker in the country and the No. 12 player coming out of Ohio.

Illinois football seems to be tapping into the Ohio recruiting pipeline as of late

Bielema has had some solid recruiting classes since he took over the program in December 2020. While he has been able to land talented players, very few of those recruits have come from the state of Ohio.

In the four recruiting classes Bielema has brought in, just four players from Ohio have joined the cause. But the Buckeye State momentum might be changing.

On Wednesday, Illinois landed a Crystal Ball Prediction to flip Purdue commit, Grant Beerman. He is a linebacker out of Lakota West High School in Ohio. Now, from that same high school, Illinois has made the top six for Thomas.

This pipeline could pay huge dividends down the road. Ohio hasn’t been friendly to the Orange and Blue, but landing Beerman and then Thomas would be a great starting point in what could be a big-time recruiting route.