We are just hours away from the early National Signing Day, and the Illinois football team is in line to potentially land a massive recruit.
Bret Bielema has already done a great job on the class of 2026. The Illini sit with the No. 23 class in the country, and this ranking comes after the program has landed the top junior college cornerback and the No. 2 JUCO offensive tackle.
Illinois isn’t done in the JUCO market, though. Bielema has his eyes on another massive JUCO recruit for 2026.
On Sunday, Allen Trieu of 247Sports reported that Keon Hutchins has decided to back away from his West Virginia commitment. He had been committed to the Mountaineers since November 4, and now his recruitment is back up for grabs.
JUCO WR Keon Hutchins has decommitted from West Virginia.
— Allen Trieu (@AllenTrieu) December 1, 2025
Illinois, Kansas State, Missouri are some of the schools who offered following his WVU commitment.https://t.co/uVlywjDhvJ
Hutchins is a 6-foot-2, 170-pound wide receiver from Northwest Mississippi Community College in Mississippi. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 8 JUCO player in the class of 2026. He is also the No. 1 JUCO wide receiver and the No. 4 JUCO player coming out of Mississippi.
The decision by Hutchins doesn’t come as a surprise. Since he committed to West Virginia, he has taken a visit to their program, but he also visited Illinois on November 25 and Kansas State this past weekend.
Illinois football is going to need a top wide receiver option in 2026
This is a pretty big deal. Hutchins is a massive recruit who would be an instant-impact player. He is needed on the Illinois roster, too.
Illinois is losing top wide receiver, Hank Beatty, to graduation. While we do have some good pieces coming back, like Justin Bowick, Hudson Clement, and Collin Dixon, the Illini will be without their top option from this season.
That leaves the runway wide open for someone like Hutchins to come into the program and take the No. 1 wide receiver job. He has proven to be one of the best wide receivers at the JUCO level, finishing second in the conference with 635 yards receiving but only having 34 catches on the season. That proves he is a big-play wide receiver.
Snagging Hutchins is a top priority with early National Signing Day on Wednesday. If Illinois can pull in this monster recruit, there is a legitimate chance we finish in the top 20 nationally for, I believe, the first time ever.