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Illinois football loading up offensively with another huge commitment

The Illinois football team is building an impressive class of 2026, and another big-time wide receiver made a commitment on Thursday.

ByRees Woodcock|
Nov 2, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema gets a hand from the crowd before the start of a game with the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
Nov 2, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema gets a hand from the crowd before the start of a game with the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Bret Bielema keeps building out the roster, as the Illinois football team landed a big-time recruit on Thursday afternoon.

Coming into Thursday, the Illini had four commitments for the class of 2026. This was a great start to what should be a pretty special group. Well, we can now add another name to the mix.

Kenyon Alston took to social media to announce that he too was committing to Illinois. This was a great get for the Illini, as we are adding another big wide receiver.

Alston is a 6-foot-2, 185-pound wide receiver from Bishop Moore Catholic High School in Florida. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 555 player in the class of 2026. He is also the No. 83 wide receiver in the country and the No. 75 player coming out of Florida.

Illinois landing Alston is a pretty big deal. This wasn’t a player who just had a bunch of MAC offers. Alston had roughly 25 scholarship offers with some of the bigger programs including Florida State, Baylor, Arkansas, and Miami (FL), to name a few.

Illinois football is adding some serious weapons for the class of 2026

With the addition of Alston, Illinois is off to a great start for the 2026 class. We have five commitments and a national recruiting ranking of No. 33 in the country. A top 40 class is rare for the Orange and Blue, and if we are starting in the top 35, I can’t imagine how high we can go.

This group of athletes is loaded with some impressive offensive talent too. Michael Clayton was the first commitment to the Illini, and he is our future quarterback. The high-three-star recruit is a top 450 player in 2026.

Illinois has Landen Von Seggern, another high-three-star recruit, coming into the program. He will help block for Clayton. The talented quarterback can then throw to players like Alston, who is 6-foot-2, and Davon Grant, another top 600 recruit, who is 6-foot-4.

The weapons Bielema is bringing in for the offensive side of the ball are impressive. Illinois is always in need of offensive help, and the future seems extremely bright for 2026 and beyond.

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