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Elite 4-star recruit keeps Illinois football alive, sets commitment date

Bret Bielema keeps landing big-time recruits for the class of 2026, and having this monster up front on the offensive line would be great for the future.
ByRees Woodcock|
Oct 12, 2019; Champaign, IL, USA; An Illinois Fighting Illini helmet sits on the field as players stretch before the start of the game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Michigan Wolverines at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Allio-Imagn Images
Oct 12, 2019; Champaign, IL, USA; An Illinois Fighting Illini helmet sits on the field as players stretch before the start of the game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Michigan Wolverines at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Allio-Imagn Images | Michael Allio-Imagn Images

Illinois football keeps trucking along, as the program continuously looks for players to add for 2026.

Just about a month ago, the Illini ended up losing a player from the class of 2026 who was the top commit at the time. This was a four-star recruit who was ranked inside the top 100. When that happened, I wasn’t sure what the fate of the Illinois recruiting class was going to be.

Fast forward to now, and wow, this class of 2026 is shaping up to be extremely impressive. Illinois replaced that departure with another top 100 recruit, and the 2026 class still ranks No. 10 in the country.

Bret Bielema and the coaching staff are not finished either. With 16 commitments, there is still plenty of room left for big-time additions. One huge name still left on the board is Micah Smith.

On Friday, the social media page CFB Ralb posted that Smith is down to just six teams for his commitment, and the talented offensive lineman has a commitment date of June 7. Smith reposted this social media post to confirm the news.

The six teams that Smith will be picking from include South Carolina, Ohio State, UCLA, Tennessee, Alabama, and Illinois.

Smith is a massive recruit, literally and figuratively. He is a 6-foot-5.5, 325-pound interior offensive lineman from Vero Beach High School in Florida. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 164 player in the class of 2026. He is also the No. 10 interior offensive lineman in the country and the No. 23 player coming out of Florida.

There is some serious firepower Illinois has to compete with for Micah Smith’s commitment

When I see the top six for Smith, my first thought is wow, those are some deep pockets. Alabama and Ohio State can essentially offer whatever they want to any recruit. UCLA has shown the money they have by bringing in Nico Iamaleava. On top of that, both South Carolina and Tennessee are football schools, so most of the NIL money will go to those programs.

247Sports has UCLA and Ohio State as the leaders for Smith, too. The big man took an official visit to Illinois on April 4 and to UCLA on May 15. With that being said, it could be an uphill battle for the Illini.

I will say this, Illinois did have enough juice to land in the top six for Smith. We are still in the running, so we have to be doing something right. The fact that we got this far is huge. Illinois already has a top 10 recruiting class for 2026, so let’s continue building. Let’s shock the world and beat out some of the top programs in the country.

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