Top 10 JUCO talent takes in what the Illinois football team has to offer

Illinois football has made a strong push in the recruiting game as of late, and that push isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

Bret Bielema and the Illini coaching staff were able to flip Grant Beerman on Thursday. He had been committed to Purdue but decided Champaign was his new home.

With a four-star linebacker like Beerman now ready to suit up in 2025, Illinois has their eyes set on some other big-time talent. One of the players is Tyeland Coleman.

Coleman is a 6-foot-4, 285-pound defensive lineman from Northwest Mississippi Community College in Mississippi. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 9 JUCO player in the class of 2025. He is also the No. 6 JUCO defensive lineman in the country and the No. 5 JUCO player coming out of Mississippi.

Illinois seems to be in the mix to land Coleman for 2025. He just took an official visit to Champaign this weekend, but that is sandwiched in between visit to Mississippi State and Florida State.

This is going to be a tough recruitment for the Illini to win as well. As of right now, 247Sports has a Crystal Ball Prediction submitted in favor of the Bulldogs to land Coleman. So, Illinois has some work to do to pull ahead of Mississippi State.

The Illinois football defensive line needs a major boost, and Tyeland Coleman could provide that boost

It was extremely had to replace the defensive line from the 2023 campaign. Replacing an All-American like Jer’Zhan Newton and a solid rusher in Keith Randolph Jr. is never fun.

Illinois did do a good job adding more talent this past offseason, though. Dennis Briggs Jr. has been solid for the Orange and Blue, and I like what players like TeRah Edwards and Alex Bray bring to the table.

But the Illini will need a major boost up front. I believe Eddie Tuerk, Angelo McCullom and Co. will all be good for the program, but Illinois needs more quality talent. I think that is what we would get with Coleman.

Coleman could come into the program and start from day one. He has higher than high school level playing experience, and his ability on the field jumps off the page. Landing Coleman would be huge for the program. Let’s see if Illinois can manage to pull ahead of Mississippi State in the coming weeks.