The college game is crazy, and thankfully, the Illinois football program has great leadership from the top down.
It honestly all starts with athletic director Josh Whitman. He pulls the strings, and he has put in place some great coaches for every program. I would argue that, in my lifetime, I have not seen a better Illini coach for the football program than Bret Bielema.
Bielema hasn’t had fewer than five wins in a season in his five seasons he has been in Champaign. This includes winning 10 games in 2024 and beating South Carolina in a bowl game.
The recruiting level of Illinois has picked up under Bielema as well. We are in the mix for some big-time recruits. Sometimes we land them, and sometimes they head elsewhere. Well, with the developments on Sunday, Illinois might be back in the game for a big-time recruit that we originally lost out on.
Penn State ended up firing longtime head coach James Franklin on Sunday. Just a few weeks ago, he led a top-three team in the country. Now, he is out of a job. A near-$50 million buyout is a nice landing spot at least.
With the firing of Franklin, that opens up the possibilities for teams to dive in and pry some of the committed players away from their program. One player I have my eye on is Marlen Bright.
Bright is a 6-foot-6, 260-pound offensive tackle from DePaul Catholic High School in New Jersey. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 383 player in the class of 2026. Bright is also the No. 36 offensive tackle in the country and the No. 7 player coming out of New Jersey.
On July 4, Bright picked Penn State as his landing spot. He was down to just three programs for his commitment. He picked the Nittany Lions over West Virginia and Illinois.
Bright did use one of his official visits to head to Champaign, though. He knows the coaching staff, facilities, and campus. This would be a great opportunity for Illinois to get back in touch with the talented offensive lineman and see where his head is at with his recruitment.
Illinois football could use an offensive lineman like Marlen Bright from day one
I was impressed with Illinois’ offensive line against Ohio State this past weekend. They looked good for the first time this season.
After the 2025 campaign, there will be quite a few departures, though. Illinois’ starting offensive tackles are departing. Our left guard is gone. And our starting center is also out of here. The only returning offensive lineman is projected to be right guard Brandon Henderson.
That leaves a lot of snaps open to whoever wants to come in and take them. As a freshman, Bright could see some early playing time and even some starts. It is not like Illinois’ offensive line was killing it this season. Bielema knows the offensive line, and he can help develop Bright into an All-Big Ten caliber blocker. Let’s see where this recruitment ends up.