Over the past week, the Illinois football team began recruiting one of the top players in the country.
Bret Bielema and the Illini continue to work on building out the class of 2025. There is still a lot of work left to make that class a top 50 group, but I feel like we can do it with the transfer portal being so important.
On top of the 2025 class, Illinois is also focusing on building the foundation for the class of 2026. We haven’t landed a player just yet, but last week, the Illini officially got in the mix for one of the top wide receivers in the 2026 class.
On July 23, Jordan Clay took to social media to announce that he had received a scholarship offer. Illinois now joins roughly 22 other programs to see the true potential of this talented pass-catcher.
#AGTG After a great conversation with @coachjstepp i am blessed and honored to receive my 21st offer from @IlliniFootball 🟠!!@BlairAngulo @BrandonHuffman @TomLoy247 @ChadSimmons_ @samspiegs @adamgorney @RivalsFriedman @JMadison_FB @Greedy_Elite @KeepItSmooth__ @CarsonBounds pic.twitter.com/ICTeZZ7s7X
— Jordan Clay 4⭐️ (@Jordan_clay11) July 23, 2024
Clay is a 6-foot-2.5, 195-pound wide receiver from Madison High School in Texas. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 95 player in the class of 2026. He is also the No. 14 wide receiver in the country and the No. 12 player coming out of Texas.
The state of Texas has not been friendly to the Illinois football program when it comes to recruiting
It is obvious why Illinois would target someone like Clay. He is a phenomenal wide receiver with great ability. At nearly 6-foot-3, Clay is a huge target. That is without even mentioning his great speed and hands.
Illinois has an uphill climb when it comes to recruiting Clay. Despite being from the class of 2026, he already has a Crystal Ball Prediction in favor of landing with Texas.
The Longhorns are clearly in the lead for Clay’s commitment, and Illinois hasn’t exactly been well-versed in recruiting the state of Texas.
In three recruiting classes in the Bret Bielema era thus far, Illinois has only landed one player from the state of Texas. Cornerback Chase Canada, a junior college transfer, is the lone player to commit when it comes to traditional recruiting. Illinois has also landed Texas cornerback transfer, Terrance Brooks.
To get into Clay’s recruitment will be tough for the Illini. If we can manage to make some waves, I will be impressed.