The Illinois football team is building a special class of 2026, and adding another talented defensive back would help strengthen the group.
Bret Bielema has gotten the Illini off to a great start to the 2026 class. We already have six commitments, and the quality talent has us with the No. 25 class in the country.
It might be a pipe dream for Illinois to finish with a class inside the top 25, but as of right now, things are looking good. Illinois is now trying to add another defensive player to the mix.
On Friday night, Marcus Jennings took to social media to announce that he has received a scholarship offer from Illinois.
Blessed to receive a offer to the University of Illinois! @CoachDaws_ @CoachRush_CTFB @CoachCParker @Detroit_CTFB pic.twitter.com/LyJztGvlUW
— Marcus Jennings 3 ⭐️ 2026 DB (@marcusjenn24) January 31, 2025
While the Illini might be one of the most recent offers, we were not the first. Jennings has roughly 16 scholarship offers on the table right now with some of the bigger offers being from programs like West Virginia, Pittsburgh, and Western Michigan, to name a few.
Secondary help is something Illinois football has in mind for the class of 2026
Jennings would be a good addition to the Illini. He is a 6-foot-2, 185-pound safety from Cass Technical High School in Michigan. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 69 safety in the country. He is also the No. 24 player coming out of Michigan.
As of right now, Illinois hasn’t landed a player in the secondary for 2026. We are going to need more help in the defensive backfield, so the Illini clearly have that in mind and want to add to this position grouping.
Bielema did a great job adding secondary talent in the class of 2025. Players like Andre Lovett and Tywan Cox are going to fight for snaps in year one. I expect a good haul of defensive backs coming out of the 2026 class as well.
I like this offer from Illinois. Jennings is a good player who could help this program early on in his career.