Illinois football trying to get into running for 4-star cornerback

Illinois football could always use another talented defensive back, and we might be in the running for one of the best in the country.

The class of 2025 is starting to round into shape. While the Illini have the No. 63 class in the country, there are some good players committed thus far.

Bret Bielema is nowhere near done with this class, though. Numerous names are still on the board, and one just appeared days ago.

On Sunday, Dawayne Galloway Jr. took to social media to announce that he has backed away from his commitment to Purdue. He was committed to the Boilermakers since July 5, but his recruitment is officially back open.

According to On3.com, Galloway has heard from numerous programs since reopening his recruitment. Among the teams listed included West Virginia, Michigan, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Penn State, Miami (FL), Colorado, and Illinois.

Talent and development should be a nice bargaining chip for the Illinois football program when it comes to recruiting Dawayne Galloway

There is a reason that a ton of big-time programs are already after Galloway less than 24 hours after he reopened his recruitment. This kid is a good player.

Galloway is a 6-foot-1, 175-pound cornerback from Marion-Franklin High School in Ohio. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 192 player in the class of 2025. He is also the No. 22 cornerback in the country and the No. 8 player in Ohio.

The list of teams that have reached out to Galloway is impressive. Illinois should be able to make up some ground with the talented defensive back because we have been able to develop and send talented players into the NFL.

Devon Witherspoon was the fifth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and made the Pro Bowl as a rookie. Quan Martin was picked in the second round in 2023 and has been a staple in Washington’s secondary. Sydney Brown was a menace over the middle after being picked by the Eagles in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Those three are insanely talented and all were selected in 2023. I haven’t even mentioned Kerby Joseph in 2022 or Nate Hobbs in 2021. This trend isn’t stopping either. Illinois is likely to have at least one defensive back drafted in the 2025 NFL Draft as well.

Illinois has turned into DB U. Galloway can come to Champaign and be the next great defensive back for the Illini. This is a bargaining chip that is powerful when you lay it out in front of these talented high school athletes.