The class of 2027 is starting to heat up, as the Illinois football team is targeting some impressive talent.
While the 2026 class is still being buttoned up and there is about a half-year left in that recruiting cycle, the class of 2027 needs to start gaining some traction. The Illini have yet to snag a member of this class, but that will change down the road.
One of the options that is now on the board for Illinois is Keyon Hemphill-Woods. In the past couple of weeks, Hemphill-Woods took to social media to announce that he had received a scholarship offer from the Orange and Blue.
In the post, Hemphill-Woods says, “After a great conversation with @Eddie_Simpkins I am blessed to receive and offer from @IlliniFootball…”
After a great conversation with @Eddie__Simpkins I am blessed to receive and offer from @IlliniFootball thank you @CoachOzzy @MattSchobel @CochCRuthers @G3NOO @graveschad pic.twitter.com/5lkvtH9Nb6
— 3⭐️Keyon Hemphill-woods (@Keyonhwoods59) June 21, 2025
Hemphill-Woods is a pretty big recruit for the 2027 class. He is a 6-foot-3, 275-pound interior offensive lineman from Columbus High School in Texas. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 340 player in the class of 2027. He is also the No. 19 interior offensive lineman in the country and the No. 47 player coming out of Texas.
As of right now, Hemphill-Woods has roughly eight scholarship offers, most of which are coming from the Big 12. Illinois is his first Big Ten offer.
Illinois football is leaning a bit on the state of Texas when it comes to recruiting
Hemphill-Woods is going to have his choice of schools when the time comes. More offers are sure to flow in.
Illinois has been tapping into the Lone Star State quite often in the past, too. Just in the class of 2026, we have pulled in three players from Texas, which is our third-highest state only behind Illinois and Florida.
Snagging a player like Hemphill-Woods would be nice. There is a long recruitment process to go, but we are in early on this big-time recruit.