June off to a strong start for Illini football

Jun. 10—CHAMPAIGN — Bret Bielema made recruiting the state of Illinois a priority when he took the Illini job in December 2020. Neighboring states were important, too, when it came to Illinois’ roster-building efforts.

The inroads Bielema and his staff have made on that front were evident Sunday and into Monday morning with three commitments in the Class of 2025 to kickstart what has regularly been a fruitful month of June on the recruiting trail for the Illini.

Illinois’ latest haul includes a pair of three-star prospects from Indianapolis in Lawrence North (Ind.) wide receiver Davion Chandler and Ben Davis (Ind.) defensive lineman Isaiah White and another in-state addition in Homewood-Flossmoor defensive lineman Cameron Brooks.

Chandler was the first of the three commits late Sunday morning. The consensus three-star recruit is also a consensus top 10 prospect in Indiana. Chandler is coming off a junior season at Lawrence North where he caught 40 passes for 779 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also rushed for one touchdown and returned a pair of kickoffs for touchdowns.

Illinois secured a commitment from Chandler in a recruitment that featured several other Big Ten suitors. The 6-foot, 170-pound wide receiver also had offers from Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State, Purdue and Wisconsin in addition to Boston College, Kansas, Louisville, Vanderbilt, West Virginia and a half dozen Group of Five programs.

Sunday night’s commitment from Brooks marked Illinois’ fourth in-state recruiting win in the Class of 2025. Fifth if you count Cardinal Ritter (Mo.) quarterback Carson Boyd, who is from O’Fallon. The 6-3, 258-pound Brooks is ranked as a three-star prospect by 247Sports, Rivals and On3 and chose the Illini in a recruitment that also featured offers from Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Kent…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/june-off-strong-start-illini-174800348.html

Author : The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.

Publish date : 2024-06-10 17:48:00

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