The recruiting game can be a wild ride, but with Bret Bielema at the helm, it has been pretty enjoyable.
It is incredible how much has changed since Bielema took over the Illini. While there are many areas that are different, recruiting was one of the biggest jolts to a program that needed some energy.
Illinois has been consistently in the top 50 nationally, and that number continues to improve each season. The most recent class that is in Champaign right now is the class of 2025. This group featured many talented players who will contribute to the Orange and Blue, but there is one player whom Bielema gave high praise to in his Western Michigan postgame press conference.
“It was good to see Grant Beerman. I’m telling you, I have been in this game a long time. I’ve coached inside backers my whole career. Grant Beerman is probably one of the most talented linebackers I’ve ever signed.”
Do you know how big a statement that is for Bielema to make? He has coached 17 seasons in the college ranks with impressive recruiting class after impressive recruiting class. Bielema has had numerous four-star recruits at linebacker throughout his time at Wisconsin and Arkansas, but Beerman stands out the most.
Against the Broncos, Beerman managed to get in on 12 snaps. He didn’t record a tackle, but Beerman did drop back on a pass and forced an incompletion. In the limited playing time, the star freshman has the second-best grade among all Illinois middle linebackers, just shy of Dylan Rosiek for the top spot.
Illinois landing Beerman in the class of 2025 wasn't an easy task either. We had to fight for him. Beerman took quite a few official visits and actually ended up picking Purdue as his landing spot in July 2024. Illinois then snuck in and managed to secure an official visit in November of that year. Less than a month later, Beerman backed away from his commitment to the Boilermakers, and that same day, he committed to Illinois.
Grant Beerman is just a sample of how Illinois football can develop Lakota West recruits
Beerman is a monster for the linebacker role. At 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, I would argue he is one of the biggest middle linebackers you will see in the college game.
In the little we have seen on the field, Beerman has the potential to live up to his four-star billing. He was a great player coming out of Lakota West High School in Ohio, and let me tell you, he won’t be the last star to come from that high school.
Illinois has his former teammate Cam Thomas coming in from the 2026 class. The 6-foot-2, 217-pound high three-star recruit is also a linebacker. Bielema has built a great pipeline to this Ohio powerhouse, and he already sees the potential in Beerman.
The fact that Bielema is talking so glowingly about Beerman is a pretty big deal. Illinois doesn’t just have a good player on our hands. We might have a superstar and one of the best linebackers in all of college football in the near future.