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4-star Texas wide receiver becomes target for the Illinois football program

Recruiting has started to boom for Illinois, and landing this four-star Texas wide receiver would be huge.
ByRees Woodcock|
Nov 2, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema gets a hand from the crowd before the start of a game with the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
Nov 2, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema gets a hand from the crowd before the start of a game with the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Illinois football is in the middle of a scholarship offer spree, and a big-time wide receiver from Texas is one of the most recent targets.

Bret Bielema has built a solid recruiting class each season he has been in Champaign. The most recent completed class is 2025, where the Illini finished in the top 50. 2026 should be even better, as Illinois still holds strong with the No. 9 class in the country.

With a booming rise in recruiting ranking year over year, it makes you wonder what Bielema has in store for the Illini in 2027. One very intriguing option is Antayvious Ellis.

On Tuesday, Ellis took to social media to announce that he had received a scholarship offer from Illinois. This is a huge offer, and it will hopefully be the start of a nice recruiting relationship.

Ellis is a 6-foot, 175-pound wide receiver from Crowley High School in Texas. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 158 player in the class of 2027. He is also the No. 25 wide receiver in the country and the No. 25 player coming out of Texas.

Illinois was by no means Ellis’ first scholarship offer. In fact, the big-time wide receiver has roughly 29 scholarships as of right now, and that number will only continue to grow as his high school years progress.

Tay Ellis is already a polished player, and he still has two more seasons of high school football left

It is no surprise that Ellis has that many scholarship offers. I firmly believe that this kid could hop up to the college ranks and start for the vast majority of FBS programs.

I would say the biggest thing that stands out to me is the fact that Ellis is great off the line of scrimmage. His first move against a defensive back leaves the defender in the dust. Ellis’ mind for the game is impressive, and you can see it on the field.

There are also the obvious things about Ellis’ game that stand out. He is extremely quick. His hands are insane, too. The fact that he is still a sophomore right now is mind-blowing.

Let’s see how the Ellis recruitment progresses over time. He seems to be tight with the Nebraska program, but there is still plenty of time. Step one would be to get him to visit Champaign on an unofficial visit. That would be a foot in the door.

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