It is important that the Illinois football program build on the recruiting momentum we have right now.
Letting the class of 2026 slip down would be a bit disappointing at this point. The Illini currently have the No. 11 class in the country, and that number could go much higher in the coming days.
This past Thursday, Nasir Rankin took to social media to announce that he was going to decide between Duke, Nebraska, USC, North Carolina, and Illinois on Wednesday, May 21, at 4:30 p.m. CT at his high school, Morgan Park.
That decision is going to give one of those programs a huge boost when it comes to recruiting ranking. Illinois will, hopefully, be the landing spot. The staff over at 247Sports does have a prediction on where the talented athlete, who will play wide receiver, will go.
On Friday, the 247Sports Staff Projection Crystal Ball Prediction has Rankin landing with…
Illinois
The Crystal Ball Prediction is a seven out of 10, which is pretty high. Usually, when it is anything above a six, the predictors seem pretty confident that the player will land with that program.
Adding Nasir Rankin would give Illinois football two massive wide receiver options for 2026
There are multiple reasons why landing Rankin would be huge for the Illinois program. The first is the obvious one. The kid is a massive talent.
Any team in the country would be lucky to have a player like Rankin. He is a top 100 recruit, and at that level, you are elite. He is listed as an athlete, but he is coming into the college ranks as a wide receiver.
That brings me to my next point on why Rankin’s commitment to Illinois would be massive. If he picks the Orange and Blue, that would give Bret Bielema two big wide receiver options moving forward.
Rankin would be a four-star wide receiver who could make an impact from day one. He would be the top player for the Illini class of 2026. Illinois also has Davon Grant committed in that recruiting class. Another “athlete”, Grant will play wide receiver as well. He is currently the No. 4 player for the Illini in the 2026 class.
A pledge from Rankin would give the Illini two wide receivers among the top five players committed for 2026. That is the shot in the arm the Illinois offense would need for the future.