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Illinois football locks in official visit with elite Texas recruit

Bret Bielema can help secure a top 20 class nationally with players like this huge Texas recruit.
ByRees Woodcock|
Nov 2, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema before 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 before a game with the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

We are gearing up for another big weekend on the recruiting calendar, as the Illinois football team has some important players visiting.

Last weekend was the start of a crazy month of June. The Illini had numerous recruits visit, and we ended up securing a couple of commitments. There is still plenty of work left, though. This upcoming weekend is also huge for the class of 2026.

On Wednesday, Isaiah Williams took to social media to announce that he will be taking an official visit to Illinois. He will be a part of the crew that takes in the program starting on June 13.

This is a familiar name for the Illini, as we have had some form of Isaiah Williams on the roster quite often over the last couple of decades. This Isaiah Williams is a 6-foot, 190-pound safety from Fort Bend Marshall High School in Texas. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 548 player in the class of 2026. He is also the No. 42 safety in the country and the No. 77 player coming out of Texas.

Williams’ offer list is quite impressive. He has roughly 34 scholarship offers, which include the likes of Ohio State, LSU, and Texas, among others.

Three official visits have been set for June, though. Williams made a trip to Oregon State on June 6. He will be in Champaign this weekend. And then he makes his way out to Utah starting June 20.

Back in October 2024, Williams had a top five of Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Ohio State, and LSU. In February, he reopened his recruitment and essentially restarted.

Illinois football is looking to build a legendary defensive class for 2026

Williams is a big-time talent. The fact that you can be considered the 77th best player in a state and still have, essentially, your choice of elite program is impressive. Illinois is now right in the mix, and landing Williams would be huge.

If Williams did come to Illinois, it would continue the build of what should be an elite defense in the near future.

Illinois’ class of 2026 has 18 commits right now, and most of the top players are on the defensive side of the ball. In the 247Sports rankings, five out of the top seven commits are all on defense.

In this group of five defenders would be Williams’ running mate in the secondary, Almirian Thomas. He is our second-highest ranked recruit right now. Having this duo in the Illinois defensive backfield would be amazing to see on Saturdays. Impressing Williams this weekend is going to be crucial in making that duo a possibility.

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