2025 in-state recruit eyeing Illinois football official visit

The Illinois football program needs to add more talent to the class of 2025.

It has been a struggle thus far, as the Illini have a class ranked No. 66 in the country for 2025. With only 13 commits on the board, adding someone like Clayton Lakatos would help the cause.

Lakatos is a 6-foot, 180-pound safety from Edwardsville High School in Illinois. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 1404 player in the class of 2025. He is also the No. 115 safety in the country and the No. 41 player coming out of Illinois.

On Monday night, Allen Trieu of 247Sports reported that Lakatos has plans to take two official visits in the coming month. He is going to Iowa on September 7 and will be at Illinois on September 14.

I feel like Lakatos has a lot to offer at the safety position. He is someone who has a great vision for the ball. He knows where it is going and can break up passes with the best of the best.

Lakatos’ closing is impressive as well. He takes great angles and is really smart on the football field. This would be a good addition to the Illinois football team.

Continuing to add recruits to the class of 2025 needs to be a priority for the Illinois football program

I would love to add someone like Lakatos. I think the kid has a ton of potential. But even with the addition of this in-state talent, the Illini are struggling to build a solid recruiting class.

As mentioned earlier, Illinois ranks No. 66 in the country right now in recruiting for 2025. There are only three other power-four conference teams behind us; Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, and Colorado.

Colorado has shown us what they are. They just go after transfer portal players every year. Wake Forest had a down 2023 and that ship could be sinking. And Vanderbilt is a traditional bottom feeder.

At this point, the transfer portal is going to be crucial for the Illini. Ranking No. 66 in the country for the class of 2025 this late in the game is very worrisome. Let’s see if Bret Bielema and the coaching staff can stem the tide.