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Bret Bielema looks to reliable Illinois football recruiting well for another key defender

Illinois football wants to add more talent for 2027, and this familiar high school might produce another big-time recruit for the Illini.
ByRees Woodcock|
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Kenyon Norman (3) of Lakota East is dropped for a loss by Roman Combs (23) of Lakota West at the Greater Miami Conference football game, Oct. 24, 2025.
Kenyon Norman (3) of Lakota East is dropped for a loss by Roman Combs (23) of Lakota West at the Greater Miami Conference football game, Oct. 24, 2025. | Geoff Blankenship for The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The month of June is quickly approaching, and that means numerous players will descend on Champaign to take in the Illinois football program.

Bret Bielema has already had quite a few official visits come through the Illini program, but June is when a recruiting class can go from good to great quickly.

A lot of big-time recruits plan on visiting Illinois. On Wednesday, another name was added to the list of official visits.

Roman Combs took to social media to announce that he has plans to visit Illinois on the weekend of June 12. This is his latest official visit news, as he will start his visits at Iowa State on May 28, Purdue on June 5, Illinois on June 12, and then finish with Pittsburgh on June 19.

Illinois has a chance to pull in a massive player in Combs. He is a 6-foot-4, 200-pound cornerback from Lakota West High School in Ohio. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 848 player in the class of 2027. Combs is also the No. 79 cornerback in the country and the No. 31 player coming out of Ohio.

The first thing that obviously stands out about Combs is his size. When you get a 6-foot-2 cornerback, that is usually pretty big. Combs is 6-foot-4. He is a monster in defensive back terms.

Combs doesn’t just have great size, though. He has all of the mechanics to make it at the next level. His footwork is solid off the ball. He has great speed and can keep up with any wide receiver who challenges him. This kid is the entire package.

Roman Combs is just the latest talented player Illinois football is targeting out of Ohio

It isn’t going to be easy to land Combs. The list of his official visits is tough, but thankfully, Bielema has developed a nice pipeline to the state of Ohio.

In the class of 2026, two of the best defensive players Illinois managed to land were from Ohio. Parker Crim is a talented edge out of Elida, and Cam Thomas is a really talented linebacker who is also out of Lakota West.

Illinois also tapped into the Lakota West pipeline in 2025. Our top commit, Grant Beerman, who flipped from Purdue to Illinois, was a linebacker for Lakota West. He is going to make a huge impact on the team this season. Bielema also managed to secure edge Erik Gayle out of Withrow High School.

Recruiting is strong for the Illini. We are in the running for some talented players, and the pipelines we have developed are bearing fruit. Let’s see if we can continue bringing in players from these pockets in Ohio.

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