Jul. 14—***

Thanks to a large population base (sixth biggest among the states with more than 12 million people), Illinois has long been an excellent place to find talented high school football players. Is it as productive as California, Texas or Florida? Nope, but those states have at least 11 million more bodies and we know there is always football strength in numbers. But Illinois rivals Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan when it comes to producing folks who can throw, run, block and tackle. So, who are the best of the best prospects in the state of Illinois? Illini beat writer BOB ASMUSSEN highlights 10 to keep an eye on in 2025 … and beyond:

He is top-rated player in the state who has made a commitment to Bret Bielema and Illinois. The 5-foot-11, 165 -pounder is currently ranked No. 7 in the Land of Lincoln by , which has now joined forces with ON3. His offers included Southern Cal, Mississippi, Michigan and Iowa. With an expanded class of seniors on the current Illinois roster, Rankin will have a chance to play immediately in 2026.

At the moment, the second-highest Illinois recruit from the state, sitting at No. 11 according to Rivals. Picked Illinois ahead of offers from Missouri, Tennessee and others. Outflanking Missouri for a recruit from the St. Louis area is a big get for Bielema’s program. There was a time when the best players from the area would put Illinois high on their list. Bielema wants to recreate that dominance.

You need to watch the star blocker/catcher for multiple years. First, when he arrives at college choice Mississippi — the 6-foot-6, 230-pound four-star recruit picked the Rebels ahead of Illinois and Auburn — and later on if flaky Lane Kiffin doesn’t delivered as promised. Anderson seemed destined for Illinois, but the Illini will likely welcome him with open arms should it not work at the first place.

Illinois missed on the two best tight ends in the state this season: Anderson and Mack Sutter, who verbally committed to Alabama last month. Time to get in line for the state’s top overall prospect in 2027, the nation’s second-best player at the position and No. 23 player in the state overall. A four-star recruit at the moment, Williams has offers from Illinois,. Ohio State, Georgia, Penn State and most everybody else.

The 2024 News-Gazette All-State Player of the Year put up eye-popping numbers as a junior with 2,926 passing yards and 42 touchdowns to go with 395 rushing yards and seven touchdowns for one of the state’s top programs. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound Williams was initially committed to Oregon, but he’ll stay in the Big Ten even after he decommitted from the Ducks and play for Southern Cal in 2026.

The No. 4-ranked player in the state in his 2027 class, there will be plenty of interest in Wagner staying close to home at Illinois and playing with the nearby Illini. But others already have gotten involved or will get involved. That’s why 15 programs have offered the 6-foot-6, 300-pound prospect, including the two teams who met in last season’s national title game: Notre Dame and Ohio State.

All the big-time programs know about the Class of 2027 prospect, who had a prolific sophomore season at one of the best football programs in the state. At 6 feet, 3 inches, Burrell has the size big-time schools seems to crave for their wideouts and already has the production after catching 75 passes for 1,257 yards and 17 touchdowns last season as the Caravan won the Class 7A state championship.

The Class of 2026 prospect has the size and skillset that reminds of another Simeon star, former Illini Martez Wilson. The 6-5, 255-pounder is Michigan bound. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Illinois, Notre Dame, Southern Cal, Georgia and so many others. Simeon is known traditionally for graduating great basketball players, but the football side has been good, too, for a number of years.

When recruiting experts start talking about the 2026 Illinois class, the big guy is one of the first to be mentioned. At 6-7, 300, he has ready-to-go size at a position group that will look very different when the Olney native arrives ahead of the 2026 season. The No. 13-ranked player in the class picked Team Bielema ahead of offers from the likes Iowa, Iowa State, Nebraska and Northwestern, among others.

The Illinois commitment in the 2026 class plays a spot that can be hard to fill: defensive tackle. The 6-foot-4, 280-pound Liggins committed to Illinois on the same day as Nasir Rankin, but don’t sleep on this potential difference-maker. He chose Illinois ahead of from Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan State, Kansas State, Indiana and others, and will spend his senior season playing in the stingy Chicago Catholic League.