Illinois football keeps stacking talent for 2025 with big in-state commitment

Illinois football just got a lot stronger, as a big in-state recruit committed to the program.

Coming into Monday night, the Illini had a solid start to the class of 2025. Three players had already committed – guard Michael McDonough, tackle Griffin Rousseau, and the guy they will protect, quarterback Carson Boyd.

Now it looks like Illinois may be starting to focus a little more on the defensive side of the ball. On Monday night, the Illini received the commitment from athlete, Andre Lovett.

Lovett is a 6-foot-2, 170-pound athlete from Eisenhower High School in Illinois. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 612 player in the class of 2025. He is also the No. 50 athlete in the country and the No. 18 player coming out of the state of Illinois.

The announcement came via Lovett’s social media profile, and this was a big pledge for the Illini, as the talented athlete had a lot of recruiting attention. With at least 19 scholarship offers, Lovett picked Illinois over teams like Purdue, Syracuse, Missouri, and Iowa, to name a few.

Bret Bielema has the Illinois football class of 2025 heading in the right direction

Illinois has done a solid job recruiting under Bret Bielema. We have been able to maintain a consistent level of player coming into the program. In 2022, the Illini had the No. 46 class in the country. In 2023, Illinois landed the No. 38 class in the nation. And this past year, Bielema secured the No. 49 class in the country.

With four talented players already committed for 2025, Illinois is well on our way to at least another top-50 recruiting class. Three straight to start a coaching tenure is impressive, but landing four straight would be great for the program.

I would take it a step further, though. Illinois has maintained a solid level of recruiting, but it is time to take things to another level. Right now, the Illini have the No. 30 class in the country for 2025. I want to see that ranking stay in the 30s. I don’t want to see it drop below No. 39. I think that can happen as well.

Illinois is recruiting the Midwest pretty well. All four commits are from Midwest states. I think we can continue locking in commitments from talented players from and around the state of Illinois. We are currently favored to land multiple in-state recruits, and there are still some big fish who haven’t made a commitment. Look for Bielema to continue to make a splash when it comes to recruiting. A top 40 recruiting class is a realistic goal in 2025.