1 week Ago
CHAMPAIGN — While the final makeup of the 2025 Illinois football recruiting class is being formed, the team is working ahead. A good idea. On Sunday night, Illinois landed its first 2026 commitment when four-star quarterback Michael Clayton II from Sanford, Fla.
, said yes to Bret Bielema’s school. Not that the fourth-year Illini coach can talk about Clayton. NCAA rules still prevent a coach from being quoted about a prospect until he actually signs.
It’s one of the quaint traditions that will likely get swept away with all the other changes coming. Five years ago, you couldn’t pay a player. Now the question is how much.
Landing a player for the 2026 class reminds us that recruiting is a year-round business. “I think the NCAA and the powers that be are trying to do the best they can but there are just certain things that are evolving so quickly they don’t realize what they are doing,” Bielema said Monday during his weekly press conference at Memorial Stadium. Bielema pointed to one example.
“I love being in the homes of the kids that I recruit,” he said. “As a head coach, you only get one of those opportunities. In the 2025 class, I will never have a chance to be in any kid’s home before he signs.
To me, that’s a travesty.” One game-changer is the rule that will keep coaches from going on the road in December. “Usually, that’s when you’re in this frenzy because it’s up until the signing week in the third week of December,” Bielema said.
“So, you’re trying to get the ones you haven’t got, you’re trying to protect the ones other people are trying to grab. We’re not just allowing coaches out in the month of December.” Illinois, already a bowl qualifier, has mapped out its game prep.
Having the month off from recruiting should be a net-positive for the game. The 2025 Illinois recruiting class is currently ranked No. 46 by Rivals,com.
The school has 17 commitments, including six in-state players. “I feel good about where we’re at,” Bielema said. “There are three or four guys we are hanging fire on we would love to add in that continue to have a daily presence with us.
” Movement in the rest of college football changes the dynamic. If a coach or coordinator moves on, it opens the recruitment for some players. “Bottom line for us, we’re hoping and maintaining that the ones we have committed are staying with us,” Bielema said.
“But things can literally change overnight.” The success on the field in 2024 helps. Illinois (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten) hosts Michigan State (4-5, 2-4) at 1:30 p.
m. this Saturday after the Illini were off this past weekend. “The people coast to coast have noticed as well,” Bielema said.
The improved atmosphere at Memorial Stadium on gameday is another plus for Illinois. That wasn’t always the case in the past. Recruiting high school and junior college players is only a part of modern-day roster management.
Programs have to also be aware of the transfer portal. When he took over at Illinois, Bielema hired Jay Keiser as director of college personnel. Kaiser worked in the NFL for Tampa Bay and Miami.
Bielema first got to know him on the staff at Kansas State. Bielema, general manager Pat Embleton and Kaiser are in constant communications about potential comings and goings in the portal. “Jay monitors that and tracks it,” Bielema said.
“The thing about the portal, when it hits, you can get a call at 6 in the morning. You really get them at all times of the day.” Looking ahead beyond the 2024 season, Bielema likes where his roster is going.
“We are a very sophomore/junior-laden football team,” he said. “We’re third-youngest football team in the (Power) Four. One of the youngest teams in our conference.
Don’t lose a lot of seniors. Obviously things can change, but really excited about where our roster not only is, but where I think it can go.” The second set of new College Football Playoff rankings will be released on Tuesday night and the Big Ten will dominate the top of the list.
Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State and Indiana are expected to be among the first five or six. If not for its most recent loss to Minnesota on Nov. 2, Illinois would have been ranked the first week.
“In this league, there’s a lot of really good football teams,” Bielema said. “To be a 6-3 team, we’ve obviously lost AP ranking-wise to the No. 1 and No.
4 team in the country. Lost a heartbreaker to Minnesota.” This week, 6-3 teams LSU, Louisville and South Carolina are in The Associated Press Top 25 poll with the same record as Illinois.
“That jumped out to me,” Bielema said. “I know that the margin is very, very small and we’ve got to take better advantage of it, but part of the process is getting our guys to understand how every game matters.”.
