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In the new world of college athletics, player empowerment is at an all-time high. With the ties that bind athletes to programs loosened significantly, schools – and fans – are often hung out to dry. It happened to Illinois on Saturday night, as Victor Singleton – the crown jewel in Illini coach Bret Bielema's 2026 recruiting class – flipped his commitment to Texas A&M.
A four-star prospect from Toledo, Ohio, Singleton committed to Illinois in early February and was a key component in an Illinois 2026 recruiting class currently ranked No. 7 nationally by 247 Sports. After continuing to take visits and meeting with other schools, Singleton decided to make College Station his new home.
For better or worse, this is the new norm in college sports. With the current lack of restrictions on NIL and a new emphasis on athlete empowerment, players have been on the move around the NCAA like never before. Per 247 Sports, more than 3,900 FBS players were in the transfer portal system on April 16 – an all-time high.
Even some players who were reportedly set to make $2 million or more have decided it wasn't enough. (Tennessee's Nico Iamaleava has been the most high-profile of these cases – but certainly not the only one.) Although losing a recruit of Singleton's caliber is a blow, Bielema has helped develop a number of elite defensive backs who didn't come out of high school ranked nearly as high.
Current Illinois secondary stars Xavier Scott and Matthew Bailey were both three-star recruits, for example, while current NFL Pro Bowl cornerback Devon Witherspoon (Seahawks) had been a zero-star recruit. Singleton's about-face is bad news, but it isn't anything Illinois can't get past. Bielema and his staff have excelled at landing solid-to-good talent they can leverage into fantastic results.
No time to panic in Champaign. More From Illinois on Sports Illustrated:.
