Illinois football getting first official visit swing at 4-star offensive lineman

It has been a wild ride watching the Illinois football team put together a legendary class of 2026.

Bret Bielema has the Illini chugging along, as we have one of the best recruiting classes in the country. Illinois currently has 11 commitments for 2026 and a national recruiting ranking of No. 12.

That number has fluctuated at times, but the Illini continue to land talented players to keep us inside the top 20. We seem to be one step closer to landing another big-time recruit as well.

On Thursday night, Kai Pritchard published his official visit schedule on social media. He has four official visits scheduled with Illinois starting the festivities this weekend on April 11. Pritchard then visits Rutgers on May 30, Boston College on June 6, and Duke on June 13.

This would be a massive get for the Illini. Pritchard is a 6-foot-5, 275-pound interior offensive lineman from Donovan Catholic High School in New Jersey. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 217 player in the class of 2026. Pritchard is also the No. 13 interior offensive lineman in the country and the No. 4 player coming out of New Jersey.

It wouldn’t shock me to see Illinois football win the recruiting battle for Kai Pritchard

In the past, I felt like Illinois would lose the recruiting battle for someone like Pritchard. He is a big-time recruit, and the Illini have been left on the doorstep so many times.

Something special is happening with the class of 2026, though. Bielema has the Illini recruiting at a high level, and I think more resources are being put into the football program. We aren’t just spending on the men’s basketball program anymore.

Illinois has the offensive line development needed to get to the next level. I believe we now have the financial means to get players to come to Champaign. Let’s see if the visit this weekend goes well. If we can pull in Pritchard, that should put us near the top 10 for 2026.