Illinois football has put together another solid recruiting class that is coming into the program.
Coming into Monday, the class of 2025 was comprised of 21 freshmen joining the team and 11 transfer portal players. This was a good haul in itself, as the Illini had a top-50 recruiting class. But we weren’t done yet.
On Monday, Jack Paris took to social media to announce that he has committed to Illinois. He was coming off an official visit over the weekend, and this convinced him to pull the trigger.
No place like home 🏡 #famILLy #Committed #fightinillini pic.twitter.com/cj4VVdbt03
— Jack Paris (@jackparis_5) February 3, 2025
Paris is a 6-foot-3, 210-pound linebacker from Fenwick High School in Illinois. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 170 linebacker in the country. He is also the No. 49 player in the state of Illinois.
There were quite a few teams eyeing Paris. He had roughly 18 scholarship offers, most of which were from MAC programs, Ivy League, and the service academies. Paris decided to commit to Air Force back in August 2024. Illinois then had him in for an official visit this past weekend and offered him a scholarship. Now, we have a new linebacker to add to the mix.
Illinois football has been missing a mean middle linebacker for quite some time
I love that Bret Bielema is building out the middle linebacker role. Illinois needs as many bodies as possible at this position.
Signed on for 2025 include Ismael Kante and Grant Beerman. Beerman was committed to Purdue at one time, but Illinois was able to flip him. He has a chance to be pretty special. I think Kante can be an instant impact player as well.
Paris now joins these two to give Illinois some options. It is good to have options because we haven’t had a mean middle linebacker in a long time.
I have nothing but respect for Jake Hansen and Dylan Rosiek. They both leave everything on the field and fly around and make tackles. But they aren’t the bruising linebackers of yesteryear.
Illinois needs to develop a monster in the middle of the defense. Someone like J Leman, who was dominant and stood at 6-foot-3, 243 pounds. He was a bruiser who was going to light you up. That is what Illinois is missing on defense. We now have some good options for the future.