The Illinois football team wants another big target out wide, and this under-the-radar recruit fits that bill.
What Bret Bielema has done in the class of 2026 is quite impressive. He has the Illini sitting top 10 nationally, and the quality of talent that is coming into the program is better than we have seen in over a decade.
Moreover, winning on the field has helped in the recruiting game a ton. Proof of concept is a hurdle this program hasn’t been able to get over in a long time. Bielema has finally pushed us to a point where we can show recruits that you can win in Champaign.
That is why Illinois is in the running for a player like Owen Cabell. On Friday, Cabell decided to cut his top list down to just six programs. The six teams to make the cut include Tennessee, Indiana, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Illinois.
BLESSED!!! Thank you @SteezoDsgn! https://t.co/5xYhbbzHvK
— Owen Cabell (@Owen_Cabell) February 14, 2025
Cabell is a 6-foot-3, 195-pound wide receiver out of Christ Presbyterian Academy in Tennessee. He is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 689 player in the class of 2026. He is also the No. 108 wide receiver in the country and the No. 21 player coming out of Tennessee.
Illinois football could always use another big target recruit who seems to be flying under the radar
Two things don’t add up with Cabell. This kid is a 2026 recruit who is a three-star and closer to No. 1000 than he is to No. 1 nationally. Yet, he has some impressive scholarship offers, like one from Georgia. What that tells me is that Cabell is massively underrated.
Some of the top teams in the country are after this kid, and Illinois is in his top six. That is a pretty big deal. We could also use another big target as well.
Heading into the future, Illinois doesn’t have a lot of big targets who have proved themselves. When looking at wide receivers who are at least 6-foot-3, Illinois’ biggest threat is Ashton Hollins. He was supposed to be a big contributor in 2024 but went down with an injury five games into the season.
Alexander Capka-Jones gave the Illini over 100 snaps in 2024, but he didn’t produce much. He is also going to be a senior next season, so he will depart before the class of 2026 comes aboard.
As far as experienced size goes, those two are it for the Illini. That is why landing someone like Cabell would be big for the program. He could come in and be one of the go-to guys at wide receiver. Illinois has plenty of arm talent on the roster in the coming years. Let’s get that arm talent a massive target in Cabell.