Illinois football strengthening Indiana pipeline with big defensive line commitment

Illinois football is starting to build a pipeline when it comes to recruiting out of the state of Indiana.

Over the years, the Illini have plucked some talented players from the Hoosier State. Former No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick Jeff George was out of Warren Central High School in Indiana. Longtime NFL offensive lineman and two-time Super Bowl champ Teddy Karras emerged from Cathedral High School in Indiana.

Indiana has been good to the Orange and Blue over the years, and Bret Bielema has decided to tap back into that pipeline for some great talent in the class of 2025. On Sunday, Illinois was able to snag wide receiver Davion Chandler from Lawrence North High School. He will be able to help the offense early on in his career.

Bielema was not done adding Indiana talent, though. On Monday, Isaiah White took to social media to announce that he too was coming to Champaign and joining the Illinois football program.

White is a 6-foot-3, 271-pound defensive lineman from Ben Davis High School in Indiana. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 786 player in the class of 2025. He is also the No. 70 defensive lineman in the country and the No. 11 player coming out of the state of Indiana.

Bret Bielema has the Illinois football team pulling in a solid class of 2025 thus far

White fits in with exactly what the Illini want to do on the defensive line. We play more of a 3-4 style defense, so having a nasty, big, defensive line is key to succeeding up front. With White’s speed and strength, I think he has a really bright future under the guidance of the Illinois football coaching staff.

It is also impressive what Bielema is doing with the class of 2025. White ranks in the top 800, and this gives Illinois more quality talent for the 2025 campaign.

So far, Illinois has nine commitments for 2025, and all but one of those commitments ranks inside the top 1000 according to the On3.com Industry Rankings. If you compare that to the 2024 class, the Illini had a total of 10 top 1000 players committed for the entire class. We aren’t even close to having the class of 2025 finished, and we are already at eight top 1000 recruits.