Illinois football looking to shock the world by landing a top quarterback recruit

Illinois football has had an impressive run when it comes to recruiting, and some of the targets aren’t in the immediate future.

With the class of 2025 buttoned up and the 2026 class ranked inside the top 10 nationally, Bret Bielema has the Illini looking like a force moving forward.

That is a shocking statement considering just about six years ago, Illinois was a bottom feeder in the Big Ten and pretty much a laughingstock in the college football world. All fans could fall back on was a few randomly good seasons, a No. 1 pick in the 1990 NFL Draft, and a few NFL legends before most Illini fans were even born.

It is hard to dig a program out from those types of depths, but Bielema has done a great job not only digging us out, but he has started to fill the hole so we don’t fall back in. Building out recruiting classes and understanding the transfer portal is a huge part of filling that hole in. While the class of 2026 ranks in the top 10 in the country, Bielema wants to follow this great recruiting haul with another one in 2027.

On Thursday, Trae Taylor took to social media to announce that he has cut his top list down to just five programs. The five teams making the cut include LSU, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Michigan, and Illinois.

Taylor is a 6-foot-3, 180-pound quarterback from Carmel Catholic High School in Illinois. He is currently rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 13 player in the class of 2027. He is also the best player coming out of Illinois and the No. 4 quarterback in the country.

Now, the recruiting rankings will likely change as we get closer to 2027 and more players get evaluated, but Taylor is starting up there with some of the elite players in the country. His top list also shows you the quality of teams vying for his commitment.

In-state recruiting has been a struggle for the Illinois football team through generations

Being in the top five for such a talented player is a big deal. This recruitment is going to be tough, though.

Illinois has the coaching and the ability to recruit with the top teams in the country. That aspect of trying to land Taylor doesn’t worry me. It is the NIL money. LSU, Texas A&M, Nebraska, and Michigan all have deeper pockets than the Illini. That could end up coming into play in this recruitment.

In the past years, Illinois has struggled to keep players home as well. The last time Illinois landed a top 10 player in the state of Illinois was in the class of 2023 with Malik Elzy, Kaden Feagin, and Jojo Hayden, according to Rivals. To go a step further, the last time the Illini snagged the top in-state recruit was back in 2009 when Ron Zook pulled in top Illinois talent, Terry Hawthorne.

But here is the thing. None of that matters. The past is just that, in the past. I didn’t think Illinois would land three straight top-50 recruiting classes. I didn’t think we could be a top 10 recruiting class at any point in time for the class of 2026. Both of those things are happening, so why not have hope Illinois can pull in one of the top players in the country for 2027?

Taylor isn’t just a solid recruit who could help Illinois win games in the future. This kid is a game-changer. He is someone who could put Illinois in the College Football Playoff consistently. Let’s shock the world.