The Illinois football team is coming off somewhat of a disappointing season.
The hope this season was that the Illini would win enough games to get into the College Football Playoff. Clearly, the program is not at that point just yet, as we are only at seven wins with one game left.
What this season has shown us the most is our deficiencies. Bret Bielema has plenty of work to do this offseason to get Illinois to a place where we can be competitive nationally.
On Thursday, the Illini took a massive step forward in the quest to get to the College Football Playoff. Hayes Fawcett of Rivals reported that Illinois has landed Jakwon Morris.
This is a massive get for the Illini. Morris is a 6-foot, 170-pound cornerback from Northwest Mississippi Community College in Mississippi. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 3 junior college player in the class of 2026. He is also the No. 1 JUCO cornerback in the country and the No. 1 JUCO player coming out of Mississippi.
Numerous teams wanted Morris. He had roughly 34 scholarship offers on the table. Back in October, Morris committed to USC. Two weeks later, Illinois came in with a scholarship offer. On Thursday, the Illini managed to flip this superstar recruit.
BREAKING: Elite JUCO CB Jakwon Morris has Flipped his Commitment from USC to Illinois, he tells me for @rivals
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) November 27, 2025
The 6’0 175 CB had been Committed to the Trojans since October
He’s ranked as the No. 1 JUCO CB on all websites https://t.co/R2g3eLFWKk pic.twitter.com/9clNnWkOiq
Just think about that for a second. In what world does Illinois ever flip a top recruit from a team like USC? I think this huge commitment for the Illini shows you that the coaching staff can recruit well, and I think it shows you the commitment of Josh Whitman to the football program. Morris is surely not cheap, and he is going to be a huge addition to this program.
Illinois football needed a player like Jakwon Morris in the worst way
As I mentioned earlier, this season hasn’t gone to plan. Illinois was supposed to be a strong contender for the College Football Playoff, but injuries and a lack of talent at key positions doomed us.
The defensive backfield was targeted as an area that needed to improve greatly. Illinois doesn’t have the players back there to be able to compete on a national level. With Xavier Scott going down early in the season, the Illini secondary was completely lost.
Heading into 2026, Morris is a sure-fire starter. He should be able to line up on the opposite side of the field from Scott. While I haven’t heard any confirmation, I would imagine Scott took a medical redshirt and will be back next season.
Having a one-two punch of Morris and Scott in the secondary will be great. Illinois still needs to upgrade multiple positions in the defensive backfield, though. The work isn’t done yet. Thankfully, the transfer portal hasn’t started either. Let the games begin.