Despite having some bad seasons in the past, there are a lot of players who entered the Illinois football program with high praise.
The Illini have pulled in a few five-star and numerous four-star recruits since the rankings era started back in 2000. Some of these players have gone on to be great for the program. Others have flamed out and never lived up to their billing.
In the previous coaching regime, Illinois had a few, but no coach is immune to the disappointing turn out of some players’ careers.
Here are the Illinois football recruiting disappointments that will make your stomach turn
Marquez Beason – 4-star - #99 nationally
I thought Lovie Smith could be turning a corner in his coaching tenure with the class of 2019 coming into the program. He somehow snagged Marquez Beason, a high-four-star recruit who was the No. 99 player in the country.
Illinois beat out teams like LSU and Texas A&M for his commitment. What ended up happening was sad after that, though.
Beason went down with a knee injury before even playing a game. This sidelined him for his entire freshman season. After that injury, Beason wasn’t the same. He played a few games in 2020. He then changed from cornerback to wide receiver in 2021. After that season, Beason understandably hit the transfer portal.
It was one of the most exciting recruiting classes in the past decade. Illinois had a top 100 recruit, and in true Illini fashion at the time, everything went wayward. Beason, while not a fault of his own, is one of the biggest recruiting disappointments.
Aaron Bailey – 4-star - #160 nationally
The plan after Nathan Scheelhaase was all set. The quarterback of the future was Aaron Bailey. He was a four-star recruit and the No. 160 player in the country coming out of the class of 2013.
Bailey came to Illinois, but the thing that derailed everything was that we brought in transfer Wes Lunt to play quarterback. While he had an okay career with the Illini, Bailey was stuck as a bench player for two seasons.
After two years, Bailey had a total of 27 pass attempts and 122 yards. He had six total touchdowns and only one turnover in that time, too. He was tired of waiting around, and he hit the transfer market.
Bailey went on to be a really good dual-threat quarterback with Northern Iowa, finishing his final season in college with 1,656 yards through the air and 1,334 yards on the ground in 2015.
Meanwhile, chaos broke out in Champaign with coaches being fired, and a ton of losing in the 2010s. Losing Bailey and his time with the Illini was so disappointing.
Martez Wilson – 5-star - #15 nationally
It is a rare sight when Illinois pulls in a five-star recruit. I believe linebacker Martez Wilson is the last five-star to come to Champaign and play for the football program. He was also the No. 15 player in the country.
Being a five-star, I would expect at least a place on an All-American team at some point. That wasn’t the case. His class of 2007 was supposed to continue the Rose Bowl success we saw in 2007-08. That didn’t happen, either.
Wilson fell short of a spot on the Freshman All-American team. He made the All-Big Ten team as a junior. After that season, he decided to head to the NFL.
Don’t get me wrong, Wilson was a good player. Someone who amasses 112.0 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, and 4.0 sacks in a season can’t be bad. But he didn’t live up to his five-star billing, and that was a disappointment.
Gabe Megginson – 4-star - #190 nationally
Amid all of the chaos in the 2010s, Illinois did have a few good recruits commit. The front lines were important, and pulling in offensive tackle Gabe Megginson was huge. He was a four-star recruit and the No. 190 player in the class of 2015.
For his national billing, Megginson’s career never got off the ground with the Illini. He started 11 games in three seasons. After his stint with the Orange and Blue, he transferred out and ended up at Illinois State.
In the middle of all of this was a coach getting fired, and multiple coaching changes. Megginson had a lot of promise, but he fell short, and his time with the program was one of the more painful results of what should have been a big-time player for the Illini.
Chris James – 4-star - #157 nationally
Illinois had some good moments in the late 2000s, and wide receiver Chris James was supposed to be a big part of that. He was a four-star recruit who was the No. 157 player in the class of 2006.
Sadly, James never panned out at Illinois. We had a lot of talent in those days, and he couldn’t rise to the top. He finished his Illini career with 12 receptions for 165 yards and a touchdown.
While Illinois would make a Rose Bowl during his time, James never got a solid footing in Champaign. This was one of the most painful recruiting disappointments since the rankings came out.
Malik Elzy – 4-star - #227 nationally
The Bret Bielema era was an immediate success, and Illinois started to pull in big-time recruits like Malik Elzy. He was a four-star wide receiver who was the No. 227 player in the class of 2023.
I thought Elzy was going to be Illinois’ big target for years to come. At 6-foot-2, he had all of the makings of a great player. Well, that didn’t end up being the case.
Elzy spent three seasons at Illinois, where he amassed 213 yards and two touchdowns. The production just wasn’t there, and if he had the talent, Bielema would have played him. For some reason, something didn’t click.
After the 2025 campaign, Elzy hit the transfer portal and ended up with LSU. He is easily one of the biggest disappointing recruitments in recent memory.
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