Crystal Ball Prediction submitted for Illinois football recruiting target

Illinois football is looking to add more power to the offense, and adding a big-time running back from the class of 2025 would do the trick.

The Illini have been building the running back room well since Bret Bielema took the reins. Leading the way heading into the 2024 season is Kaden Feagin. He is the thunder to Aidan Laughery’s lightning, as the two running backs should form a great duo.

Bielema didn’t just rest on those two talented ball carriers. We went out and snagged a four-star running back, Ca’Lil Valentine, from the class of 2024. Valentine will come in this fall and do some good work and be a great option for the future.

Illinois is now trying to land another talented running for the 2025 class. Cedric Wyche is eyeing the Illinois program, and he is a 5-foot-9.5, 200-pound running back out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florida. Wyche is a three-star recruit who is ranked as the No. 712 player in the class of 2025. He is also ranked as the No. 60 running back in the country and the No. 93 player coming out of Florida.

Back in May, Wyche set up an official visit to Champaign for the weekend of June 21-23. He is on his official visit right now, and just days ago, momentum seemed to swing in Illinois’ favor.

On Thursday, Jeremy Werner of 247Sports submitted a Crystal Ball Prediction for Wyche. The landing spot for the talented running back? Illinois.

There is no certain style of running back the Illinois football team is recruiting for the future

Usually, you can peg what style of running back a team wants by the way they recruit. If you want to go small and have a dual-threat running back out of the backfield, that is usually the type of running back you target.

Illinois has kind of been everywhere on the board. At this point, I think they want a nice balance of thunder and lightning in the backfield.

Bielema landed Jordan Anderson a couple of years ago, and the Naperville native is 6-foot-4, 245 pounds. We then brought in Feagin last season, and he is 6-foot-3, 250 pounds. Those two are bruisers.

But on the flip side of that, Illinois has landed some quick running backs who can squeeze through holes. Laughery is 5-foot-11, 200 pounds. Valentine coming into the program is 6-foot, 180 pounds. And now we have the potential to land a 5-foot-9.5, 200-pound ball carrier with Wyche.

I like the balance Illinois is trying to provide in the backfield. There is room for all of these talented ball carriers. Let’s see if we can land a commitment from Wyche after this weekend.