Landing a big-time linebacker could be on the horizon for the Illinois football team.
The Illini have had a great start to the class of 2026. We have five commitments thus far and a national recruiting ranking of No. 31 in the country.
Most of the talent Illinois has landed has come on the offensive side of the ball. Four out of the five commitments will play offense for the Illini with the only recruit who won’t being edge rusher, Kingston Shaw.
Bret Bielema already has an impressive haul for 2026, and it looks like Illinois might be on the verge of landing another big-time recruit.
This past Thursday, a Crystal Ball Prediction was submitted by 247Sports National Recruiting Analyst Allen Trieu for linebacker Cam Thomas. The landing spot for Thomas?
Illinois.
Trieu has a confidence of six out of 10 for Illinois to land the Ohio native. This would be a massive get for the Orange and Blue.
Thomas is a 6-foot-2, 217-pound linebacker from Lakota West High School in Ohio. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 247 player in the class of 2026. He is also the No. 20 linebacker in the country and the No. 11 player coming out of Ohio.
Back in November, Thomas cut his list down to just six teams and kept Illinois alive. The Illini have been putting resources into recruiting the kid, and now it looks like the work is paying off.
Illinois football is going to need to stockpile more linebacker talent, and Cam Thomas would be the perfect addition
I would argue that one of the weaker groupings on the defensive side of the ball has been from the middle linebacker role.
Dylan Rosiek is a solid linebacker, but he is going to be gone after the 2025 campaign. Kenenna Odeluga will also be departing after next season.
Honestly, the linebacker position is pretty up in the air right now heading into the future. I don’t feel confident in the position, but adding a player like Thomas would help ease the questions.
Thomas would be one of the highest-rated linebackers Illinois has ever landed. I would fully expect him to not only get snaps in year one but there is a chance he starts numerous games. Thomas would be a game-changer for the Illini, and landing him should be priority No. 1 for this program.