2025 cornerback has Illinois football in final 2, sets commitment date

It is going to be a busy next week for the Illinois football program, as we are in the hunt for some solid recruits.

As of right now, the Illini have 10 players committed for the class of 2025. Our national recruiting ranking is No. 49 in the country, and we are well on our way to another top-50 recruiting class.

To lock in that top-50 class, Bret Bielema and the Illinois coaching staff will need to continue landing some top talent.

On Thursday, the Illini got a little closer to landing another solid player. Robert “RJ” Jones took to social media to announce that his decision is down to two programs. He will be picking between UCF and Illinois on Saturday, June 29.

Jones is a 6-foot-1, 165-pound cornerback from Vero Beach High School in Florida. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 1112 player in the class of 2025. He is also the No. 97 cornerback in the country and the No. 147 player in the state of Florida.

Back in early June, Jones committed to North Carolina State. That commitment lasted a few weeks until he backed away from the pledge on June 20. Now the talented cornerback is just looking at two potential landing spots.

Robert Jones would provide some much-needed depth at cornerback on the Illinois football roster

Illinois’ secondary wasn’t the best last season. They gave up 228.1 yards per game through the air, which ranked No. 64 in the nation.

Early in the offseason hurt the Illini secondary as well. We lost Taz Nicholson to the transfer portal, but Bielema responded quickly to the departures.

Illinois bolstered the cornerback position with some serious talent. We landed Terrance Brooks, a Texas transfer, and Torrie Cox Jr., an Ohio transfer, to stabilize the position. These two should start from day one.

Jones is a macro play for the Illini. If he picks the Orange and Blue, he isn’t going to start early on. He is going to provide some great depth, and by his sophomore or junior year, he should be ready to be a starter. This would be a great addition to the roster and one that will give us some much-needed depth.