The Illinois football program is trying to put together another 10-win season in 2025.
This hasn’t been exactly the season most had wanted, as the College Football Playoff was the ultimate hope, but the Illini still have a chance to finish out strong.
Illinois has seven wins right now with two very winnable games to finish out the 2025 campaign. A bowl victory would give the program win No. 10, and back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time since…EVER.
Winning now will only help with recruiting in the future, too. Big-time players wouldn’t even look at the Illini if we weren’t winning on the field. I would imagine it is why Illinois is now squarely in the mix for Jack Brown.
On Friday, Hayes Fawcett of Rivals took to social media to announce that Brown was down to just six programs. He will pick between Arizona State, Texas A&M, Missouri, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Illinois.
NEWS: Four-Star TE Jack Brown is down to 6 Schools, he tells me for @rivals⁰⁰The 6’5 220 TE from Saint Charles, MO is ranked as the No. 6 TE in the 2027 Rivals300⁰⁰Where Should He Go?https://t.co/uNMM1ihg8W pic.twitter.com/asjIuucDgs
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) November 21, 2025
This is a massive recruit for all six programs. Brown is a 6-foot-5, 215-pound tight end from Francis Howell Central High School in Missouri. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 107 player in the class of 2027. He is also the No. 6 tight end in the country and the best player coming out of Missouri.
Illinois football is in the mix for Jack Brown against some programs with deep pockets
A player like Brown with his ability would be an instant starter in the Illinois program. If he picked any of the other five teams, that wouldn’t be the case. Illinois is always in need of tight end help, and Brown would be a great addition.
But here is the thing. Every team Illinois is going up against is football-rich. Illinois uses a lot of NIL dollars on the basketball program, so it is tougher to get these big-time recruits. We do snag a couple of these top guys a year, so maybe Brown could be one of those players.
At the end of the day, Missouri, Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, and Arizona State all focus on football. The only outlier is the Wolverines, which has enough money for both programs.
Illinois has a chance to land a game-changer in Brown. He could be one of the best tight ends to ever come through the program. Can we pull in this big fish while other anglers are fishing with better equipment? Let’s see how this one plays out.