The bowl victory wasn’t the only good news to come this week for the Illinois football program.
Tuesday was one of the best days for the Illini fanbase. We couldn’t ask for a better result in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, as Illinois was able to take down a talented top 15 South Carolina program.
On New Years Day, more good news started to flow in as well. While the news wasn’t something that would impact the current team, it will give the Orange and Blue another piece for the future.
Kingston Shaw took to social media to announce that he was committing to Illinois.
I am excited to say that I am COMMITTED to the university of Illinois!! Look forward to playing for Coach B and his staff! Go ILLINI🔸🔹@IlliniFootball @BretBielema @CoachJamison @trentharris33 @Recruit2Illini @AaronHenry7 @jon_proto @DanLaForestFB @TeamCounsel @SWiltfong_ #ILL pic.twitter.com/kyiArSrvJu
— Kingston Reigns Shaw 3⭐️ (@KingstonShaw15) January 1, 2025
Shaw is a 6-foot-4, 225-pound EDGE from Apopka High School in Florida. He isn’t rated or ranked by 247Sports, but he does have a lot of recruiting attention.
While Illinois was able to land the talented 2026 defensive recruit, Shaw did have some big-time offers from teams like Arkansas, Mississippi State, and Toledo, to name a few.
Winning on the field is helping the Illinois football team land good recruits like Kingston Shaw
The timing of Shaw’s commitment doesn’t come as a surprise. He was in attendance at the Illinois bowl game against South Carolina. Within 24 hours, he is a member of the program.
Shaw brings some great qualities to the defensive side of the ball. The first thing that stands out to me is his strength. He doesn’t get pushed around on the line, and he is able to control the offensive tackle. Shaw then can see where the ball carrier is going, and he breaks away from the blocker. His vision and ability to read the offense is impressive.
Illinois continuing to win on the field will only help show other talented recruits that Champaign is a spot you can see success. That adds another chip to the bargaining table when it comes to recruiting.
I would argue that Illinois hasn’t had that chip in a long time, if ever. We haven’t been able to say that you can come here and win games. That is all changing. On top of that, there is a clear investment in the program. The facilities are great, the money is flowing in, and now we have a great coaching staff in place.
Look for more talented class of 2026 recruits to start signing up. There is something special happening at Illinois.