Illinois football seems to be doing some quick work with a top player in the class of 2025.
Bret Bielema has the Illini class of 2025 looking pretty solid right now. It is early in the game, but Illinois has a top-50 recruiting class, and there are plenty of names out there for the program to land.
Official visits are coming down the pipeline, and some of the big ones start in the coming weeks. One of the biggest official visits to keep an eye on is from LaJesse Harrold.
Harrold is a 6-foot-5, 215-pound edge from Robinson High School in Florida. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 73 player in the class of 2025. He is also the No. 8 edge in the country and the No. 12 player coming out of Florida.
Illinois seems to be making up some ground with Harrold quickly. We just offered him a scholarship two weeks ago, and now he is taking an official visit. According to 247Sports, Harrold is taking a visit to Illinois on June 7. He will then make the trip over to LSU on June 14.
Landing LaJesse Harrold would give the Illinois football team an elite player and one of the best recruits in the past few decades for the program
Harrold is an insane athlete. He is someone who is going to make an immediate impact wherever he goes. The speed he has coming off the line is incredible. Harrold is definitely built more like a linebacker than a defensive lineman. Illinois likes to go with a 3-4 look, so that would be perfect for the Illini defense.
Check out my jr season film https://t.co/cVFgGCR0hH @CoachLikeMike @RobinsonKnights
— LA Jesse Harrold (@JesseHarrold4) November 13, 2023
If Illinois were to land Harrold, he would be one of the best recruits this program has landed in the rankings era. 247Sports Composite has him rated at .9449, which lands the talented edge right ahead of former Illini great and NFL defensive lineman, Corey Liuget. He would also be the third-highest-rated Illinois commit in the last decade, with Marquez Beason and Isaiah Williams landing just ahead of him.
This is a huge official visit for the Illini. I am surprised we got one so quickly, but if Harrold is that interested in the program, maybe we can do some serious work in the next week and convince him to come to Champaign. Backing up the Brinks truck would probably help too.