Back-to-back 4-star commitments gives Illinois football a top 20 recruiting class

It has been such a long time since the Illinois football team has been able to recruit at a high level.

If you are younger than 18 years old, it is likely you don’t remember the Illini recruiting well. It was back in the mid-to-late 2000s. Ron Zook was able to land some top talent and had Illinois in the Rose Bowl.

Those types of vibes are starting to happen again with the Orange and Blue. While the commitments aren’t five-star guys like Zook landed a couple of times, Bret Bielema is still pulling in some great talent for 2026.

The Illini class of 2026 was on the right track before we entered February. With six commitments and the Illinois offense set for the future, Illinois was looking to build a solid recruiting class. That is when shockwaves were sent throughout the college football world.

On February 1, Illinois was able to land cornerback Victor Singleton. He is a four-star recruit who is the No. 46 player in the class of 2026. On top of that, he is the best player coming out of Ohio. Illinois was able to land Singleton over Ohio State, among others.

Bielema wasn’t done with just one four-star recruit, though. On Thursday, Cam Thomas took to social media to announce that he too was committing to Illinois.

Thomas is a 6-foot-2, 217-pound linebacker from Lakota West High School in Ohio. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 290 player in the class of 2026. He is also the No. 24 linebacker in the country and the No. 14 player coming out of Ohio.

With roughly 28 scholarship offers, Illinois was able to beat out teams like Wisconsin, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, and Michigan, among others, for Thomas’ commitment.

Where could Illinois football end up ranked for the class of 2026

It is a bit wild that Illinois has already landed two four-star recruits for 2026. We have eight commitments with a national recruiting ranking of No. 13 in the country. That is higher than any class I have ever seen for the program.

That number will drop eventually if the Illini can’t continue landing top recruits, though. Realistically, I don’t expect to be in the top 20. But who knows what could happen in the coming months.

The question I am thinking about is where Illinois could end up for the class of 2026?

Top 10 is out of the question. In 2024, Auburn was the No. 10 team, and they had one five-star and 14 four-star commitments. Penn State was the No. 15 team, and they had 16 four-star commitments. That isn’t likely to happen for the Illini.

Cracking the top 25 might be realistic. The No. 24 team in the class of 2024 was Kentucky, and they had eight four-star commitments and 15 three-star commitments. That isn’t crazy to think Illinois can get to that point.

With the way the class of 2026 has started, I would be pretty disappointed if the Illini didn’t crack the top 30 nationally. Purdue had the No. 27 class in the country in 2024, and they had five four-star commitments.

Illinois football is heading in the right direction. The class of 2026 could be one of the greatest recruiting classes we have ever seen. Let’s see how this thing shakes out.