Illinois football lands first commitment for the class of 2025

The Illinois football program has landed the first class of 2025 commit.

I don't believe the Illini have closed up the 2024 class just yet. We have a ranking of No. 43 in the country, and this is coming off the No. 38 class in the nation the year before.

While these classes are solid and will help build the foundation for the future, Bret Bielema and his coaching staff are already trying to secure commitments for the class of 2025.

On Friday afternoon, the Illini managed to land the first commitment for the 2025 class. Michael McDonough took to social media to announce that he has picked Illinois as his landing spot.

McDonough is a 6-foot-3, 270-pound interior offensive lineman from Victor J Andrew High School in Illinois. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 34 interior offensive lineman in the class of 2025. He is also the No. 14 player coming out of Illinois.

Illinois had to beat out some good teams to land McDonough. He also had scholarship offers from programs like Purdue and Colorado. But Bielema was able to keep this talented offensive lineman in-state.

Bret Bielema has had a clear focus on building the Illinois football offensive line

The first player to commit to the class of 2025 is, of course, an offensive lineman. That is true Bielema fashion.

Bielema has been steadily building Illinois from the inside out. In the class of 2022, the Illini were able to land eight offensive lineman newcomers.

In 2023, Illinois brought in five new offensive linemen to add to the mix. We are also bringing in another five new offensive linemen in the 2024 class, which includes four-star freshman AJ Dennis.

Bielema knows that Illinois needs help on the offensive line. He is bringing in some help in each class, and that offensive line depth and talent is building. I don't see that stopping anytime soon either.

McDonough is another player who is going to help stabilize the Illinois offense. This was a big commitment for the Orange and Blue and one that will pay dividends down the road.