It seems that the Illinois football team is starting to make a push to land some big-time recruits in the near future.
The last few weeks have been a wake-up call that the Illini don’t have the talent to compete with some of the big boys of the college football world right now. We have seen Bret Bielema go on a tear with offering junior college players both on the offensive line and the defensive side of the ball.
Illinois has also started to recruit some other elite players from the class of 2027. One of those players is Cade Cooper. He took to social media a couple of weeks ago to announce that Illinois had come in with a scholarship offer.
After a great conversation with @artursitkowski4 I am beyond blessed to receive an offer from The University of Illinois!!@CoachGueriera @MalvernPrepFB @coachjstepp @BretBielema @ChadSimmons_ @EdOBrienCFB @adamgorney @TheUCReport @DemetricDWarren pic.twitter.com/DdwcrxkBKH
— Cade Cooper 2027 4⭐️ (@CadeCooper27) October 17, 2025
Cooper is a 6-foot-3, 192-pound athlete from Malvern Prep in Pennsylvania. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 364 player in the class of 2027. Cooper is also the No. 25 athlete in the country and the No. 14 player coming out of Pennsylvania.
With roughly 13 scholarship offers on the table right now, Illinois now enters the mix. This won’t be an easy recruitment to win, especially if some of the big programs get involved in the coming year.
Illinois football could always use a big weapon like Cade Cooper on the outside
Cooper is listed as an athlete, but everything I read is that he is going to be entering college as a wide receiver. That is interesting considering the size he brings to the table.
At 6-foot-3, that is a great big target for any quarterback to throw to. Illinois could always use that type of player on the outside and in the red zone. The Illini convert 86.67% of the time in the red zone, which is No. 56 in the country. That number would surely increase with a player like Cooper.
Illinois has now entered the chat. Cooper has great hands, great size, and he can burn down the sidelines. This kid has talent, and hopefully, the Illini can make some waves in his recruitment.