Illinois football had a big day, as we pulled in some big-time talent for the class of 2026.
Bret Bielema had already done an impressive job building out the Illini 2026 class heading into Monday. We had 11 commitments at the time and a national recruiting ranking of inside the top 15.
This past weekend was big for the program, though. Illinois had numerous athletes in the building looking to see if Champaign was the right place to start their college career.
On Monday, Tony Williams made his decision. He took to social media to announce that he was committing to Illinois.
Williams is a 5-foot-10.5, 215-pound linebacker from Raines High School in Florida. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 436 player in the class of 2026. Williams is also the No. 33 linebacker in the country and the No. 63 player coming out of Florida.
Let’s go Illinois fans Committed🟠🔵💯 @IlliniFootball @coacharchiemac @CoachEllerbrock @AaronHenry7 @BretBielema @rainesfootball @CHECKNSPORTS1 @JohnGarcia_Jr @Hayesfawcett3 @Recruit2Illini @SteezoDsgn @JWerner247 @On3Recruits @ChiefOskee pic.twitter.com/jDv0Hyscqw
— Tony “Ducie” Williams 4⭐️ (@3kDucie) April 14, 2025
Williams had a ton of recruiting attention. This was an impressive get for the Illini, as the talented linebacker had nearly 30 scholarship offers with some of the big names being Nebraska, Miami (FL), and Louisville, to name a few.
Defensive talent continues to get stacked for the Illinois football class of 2026
When you look at the Illini recruiting ranking, it is a great haul. But when you dive deeper into the class of 2026, this group is going to be the foundation of one of the meanest Illinois defenses we have ever seen.
Illinois’ top four commits are from the defensive side of the ball. Williams now joins those four and others. We currently have seven defensive players ready to roll in 2026, and Williams will form an incredible trio with Cam Thomas and Kaedyn Cobbs, two of the other linebacker commits.
As a player, what isn’t there to love about Williams’ game? I think the biggest attribute that sticks out to me is his vision. He is a really smart player who has a great eye for where the ball is going. Williams also has the athletic ability to keep up with players out of the backfield, too. He has a little Brian Urlacher in him.
I love this commitment for the Illinois football program. Williams should make an impact on the program early and often. What a huge get for the Orange and Blue.