The Bret Bielema era at Illinois hasn't been long, but it has been impactful thus far.
Bielema has helped rebuild the Illini into a Big Ten contender and a team that can sneak up on some people. His recruiting ability has been something Illinois fans haven’t seen since the Ron Zook days.
The talent that has been added since Bielema took over has been solid. We have landed good players, but some of those players don’t pan out, and others exceed expectations.
I took a look at who I believe have been the best recruits Bielema has landed while at Illinois. These aren’t the highest-rated recruits, but they are the players who have performed best on the field. They are also guys who joined as freshmen and not from the JUCO ranks or the transfer portal.
Top 5 Illinois football recruits of the young Bret Bielema era
5. Josh Kreutz
Not enough love goes to the offensive line. It is a tough position to play, and honestly, it is a thankless position. You don’t have huge stats, and when things go wrong, you usually get blamed.
Josh Kreutz has turned out to be one of the best recruits Bielema has brought into the program. He was only a three-star recruit who was the No. 1031 player in the class of 2021.
In the first couple of seasons at Illinois, Kreutz sat behind Doug Kramer at center. In 2023, he was called upon to be our starter and hasn’t looked back since. Kreutz now has 24 straight starts at center for the Orange and Blue.
This past season, Kreutz played 824 snaps for the Illini. He will continue being the rock to help protect Luke Altmyer and the rest of the Illinois offense. Having that many starts in a row and being one of the originals from Bielema’s first class is pretty big. I am not sure where the Illinois offensive line would be without Kreutz.
4. Josh McCray
It is fitting that the very first commitment Bielema received as the head coach of Illinois was Josh McCray. He pledged to the Illini and stuck with us through some ups and downs.
McCray was a three-star recruit who was the No. 1392 player in the class of 2021. He broke onto the scene as a freshman, amassing 549 yards and two touchdowns. After that season, McCray dealt with some injuries that hindered his progression.
This past season, thanks to injuries, McCray got to see the field more. He ended up having a breakout year in 2024, going for 609 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging 5.2 yards per carry. All of those marks were career highs.
The icing on the cake for McCray at Illinois was the fact that he ran for 114 yards and two touchdowns in the Citrus Bowl against South Carolina. This victory was huge, and he won the MVP of that game.
Despite McCray transferring out and landing with Georgia for his final season, he was one of the best recruits Bielema pulled in.
3. Gabe Jacas
The names on this list are pretty impressive. Gabe Jacas has an argument to be higher, but I have him as the No. 3 player among the top recruits Bielema has landed.
Jacas was not highly rated coming out of high school. He was only a three-star recruit who was the No. 1254 player in the class of 2022. Despite his low rating, Jacas came out firing in his freshman season.
In his first season in Champaign, Jacas had 36 tackles and four sacks, which earned him Freshman All-American honors. He continued to improve from there, too.
Jacas has spent three seasons with Illinois and has 31 starts under his belt. He was also a member of the third-team All-Big Ten and has amassed 150 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, four forced fumbles, one pass deflection, and one fumble recovery.
2025 will be Jacas’ final season at Illinois. This kid is going to have a big year and then be a top-three round NFL Draft pick. He has a special talent out on the edge.
2. Xavier Scott
To me, I could interchange Jacas and Xavier Scott. At the end of the day, I feel like Scott may have narrowly outpaced Jacas on this list, though.
Scott has had a sensational career at Illinois. Much like the rest of this list, Scott wasn’t a highly rated recruit. He was a three-star cornerback who was the No. 1357 player in the class of 2022.
From day one, Scott was great for the Illini. In his freshman season, he had 14 tackles, one pass deflection, and one forced fumble. His production only rose from there.
Throughout his three-year career at Illinois, Scott has 25 starts. He was a member of the first-team All-Big Ten last season, and he has racked up the numbers, tallying 121 tackles, 18 pass deflections, six interceptions, three forced fumbles, and two tackles for loss.
Scott is another one of the Illinois players who is in his final season with the program. As a junior, he was one of the best cornerbacks in the country. That will only improve in 2025. I fully expect Scott to be a top-two round NFL Draft pick in 2026.
1. Pat Bryant
The top spot is an obvious one. When you develop into an NFL Draft pick and go high in the draft, then you have earned the No. 1 position on this list.
Coming out of Florida, Bryant wasn’t one of the top players in the country. He was a three-star recruit who was the No. 1031 player in the class of 2021. Illinois landed him, and the rest is history.
It took a minute for Bryant to catch on, but by 2022, he was one of the best pass catchers on the roster. For his career, he amassed 137 receptions for 2,095 yards and 19 touchdowns. Nearly half of that production came last season.
Bryant was huge for Illinois in the first 10-win campaign in nearly a quarter-century. He had 54 receptions for 984 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2024. This led to NFL scouts eyeing him, and in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos selected Bryant with pick No. 74 overall.
The Bielema era of recruiting has been short, and the list of big-time contributors is even shorter. But Bryant has definitely earned the top spot on the best recruits Bielema has landed at Illinois.