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Big official visit weekend starts off with a bang for the Illinois football program

Illinois football needs to continue building the class of 2027, and an early commitment on an official visit weekend has helped the cause.
ByRees Woodcock|
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Oct 12, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema celebrates a 50-49 win over the Purdue Boilermakers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
Oct 12, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema celebrates a 50-49 win over the Purdue Boilermakers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

A big weekend of official visits has borne fruit in the form of an Illinois football commitment.

The Illini came into the weekend with the No. 65 class in the country and eight commitments for the class of 2027. Those numbers have now jumped a bit.

On Saturday evening, Jeremy Werner of 247Sports reported that Anthony James has committed to Illinois.

James is a 6-foot-2, 200-pound linebacker from La Marque High School in Texas. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 1346 player in the class of 2027. James is also the No. 121 linebacker in the country and the No. 170 player coming out of Texas.

With the commitment from James, Illinois now has a top 60 class for 2027. We sit at No. 59, with more commitments surely to come with so many talented recruits taking in what Champaign has to offer.

While the sub-1000 ranking doesn’t jump off the page, the James recruitment seems to be a good one to win. He had roughly 24 scholarship offers with some of the bigger programs, including North Carolina, Baylor, and Colorado, to name a few.

You have to love what James brings to the field. He is a linebacker who is shot out of a cannon and can get to the ball carrier quickly. His tremendous speed will also give Bret Bielema versatility. I think there is a chance James could eventually transition into more of an edge and play an outside linebacker role. His speed blitzing and in coverage is so valuable.

Anthony James could be the linebacker to get Illinois football out of an All-Big Ten funk

The addition of James at the very least gives Illinois more depth at linebacker, a position that hasn’t been great for the program for quite some time.

Over the last five years, the Illini have been okay at linebacker, but no one has jumped off the page. Dylan Rosiek has been our best linebacker, and he was a member of the All-Big Ten honorable mention.

The last time Illinois has had a linebacker make an All-Big Ten team was in 2020. Jake Hansen made it on the second team.

Illinois used to be known for our linebackers. That has dried up a bit in the Bielema era. James has a chance to rewrite what has been going on at linebacker. The runway is clear for takeoff.

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