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Elite 4-star recruit includes Illinois football on impressive top 8 list

Illinois football is in a huge fight with some massive programs for one of the top recruits in 2027.
ByRees Woodcock|
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Sep 27, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema leads his team down the Illini Walk before an NCAA football game with the Southern California Trojans at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
Sep 27, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema leads his team down the Illini Walk before an NCAA football game with the Southern California Trojans at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

What Bret Bielema did for Illinois football recruiting in 2026 is something to be cherished.

The Illini have rarely ever brought in a top 25 recruiting class, but we managed to sneak into the top 25 at No. 24 in the class of 2026. This group includes some great talent who will help the team from the first snap this season.

Following the 2026 class with another top 25 recruiting class in 2027 is going to be the tricky part. Kamden Lopati is the lone commitment right now, and he is a four-star who is the No. 114 player in the class of 2027.

Illinois needs to add more talent to this class, and someone like Brayden Parks would be a nice piece.

On Wednesday, Joe Tipton of On3.com reported that Parks has cut list top list down to just eight teams. The eight programs that are fighting for his commitment include Tennessee, Michigan, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Georgia, and Illinois.

Why so many big-time programs, you may ask? Well, Parks is a 6-foot-3, 305-pound defensive lineman who is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 128 player in the class of 2027. The Chicago, Illinois, native is also ranked as the No. 12 defensive lineman in the country and the No. 7 player coming out of Illinois.

If this were a recruitment before NIL, I would say Illinois doesn’t have a chance. But with NIL dollars flowing, and the Illini being in the Big Ten, who knows which program will win the Parks sweepstakes?

Illinois football has zero stability on the defensive line, and it has showed the last couple of seasons

When Bielema first entered the Illini program, the defensive line was solid. He inherited Jer’Zhan Newton and developed him into a big-time player. On top of that, there were some other nice pieces to join the program.

Those good defensive line feelings have since faded, though. Illinois has been a turnstile when it comes to the defensive line grouping. We bring in transfer portal players, and they seem to leave after a season.

It would be nice to get someone like Parks into the program. He could come in and get a starting job from day one. His talent could build, and after three seasons, he heads to the NFL.

Illinois has been putting players into the NFL a lot lately. Parks could be one of the next great Illini defensive linemen to hear his name called in the draft. Hopefully, we can go toe-to-toe with these other massive programs and win this huge recruitment.

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