Illinois football could see domino effect from landing 4-star linebacker

Bret Bielema continues to do a great job with Illinois football recruiting, as we went from a dumpster fire to a respected program.

Since Bielema took over, the Illini have had numerous top 50 recruiting classes, and the class of 2025 is on pace to make a home in the top 50 as well.

When you land players like Grant Beerman, it becomes much easier to crack the top 50 and potentially the top 40. Just days ago, Beerman flipped his commitment from Purdue to Illinois. The four-star recruit out of Ohio is going to be an important piece to the Illinois defense in the near future.

With Beerman now joining the Illinois football program, the commitment has a member of his high school squad teasing that we could see a reunion.

After Beerman’s switch to Illinois on Thursday, Cam Thomas took to social media to ask Illini fans a question. He posted a picture and asked if we wanted to see this again. What was the picture?

It was Thomas and Beerman on the field at the same time for Lakota West High School.

Yes, Illinois football fans would love to see two four-star linebackers on the defensive side of the ball

I think the simple answer to whether Illinois fans want to see Thomas join Beerman is, yes. That is the obvious answer, as these are two talented linebackers.

Beerman is a four-star recruit who is the No. 437 player in the class of 2025. Thomas is going to end up being rated higher than Beerman, as he is a four-star recruit who is the No. 261 player in the class of 2026.

A Beerman commitment could end up causing a domino effect, which would help Illinois greatly. The linebacker position has been a point of weakness on what has been a pretty good Illini defense in recent years. If you can fill that void with four-star recruits, I would imagine the defense takes a step in the right direction.

There is plenty of time left for Illinois to secure a commitment from Thomas. I am sure he is going to continue to be a top priority for the program moving forward. Hopefully, we can pair Thomas and Beerman up in the middle of a defense once again.