'Surprised neither Minnesota or Wisconsin went after him....he could play for both.'

Blue-chip talent visiting Champaign this weekend...

*Bret Bielema’s program welcomes several blue-chip recruits on-campus this weekend for official visits.

-Un-committed 2026 prospects expected to visit Illinois this weekend...

Nick Hankins cornerback Belleville (Ill.) West High School-Lineman Jeff Hasenstab class of 1990 last player from West to sign with Illinois?.....in the end Bielema's program will have to beat either Tennessee or Mizzou for the 6-foot Hankins....explosive athlete shows on the basketball court....can play either cornerback or free safety....physical/will tackle...looks physically ready to play early in his college career...another example depth of high school in-state football talent.

Tucker Ashford defensive end/outside linebacker Fort Worth (Texas) Christian High School-No relation to the former major league third baseman of same name....6-foot-3, 240-pounder has enough bend/size to play with hand in dirt/edge rusher....athletic enough to be an outside linebacker.....Illini battling the likes of Houston, Vandy and Stanford for his services.

A.J. Marks cornerback Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy-Tiny all of 5-foot-9, 160-pounds...not a fan of the 'little man' on defense...that being said.....Marks a Tasmanian Devil on the field....making plays on defense/punt/kick returner.....isn't shy about hitting/throwing his body around/sticks to wideouts like glue man coverage......would understand if Illinois takes him as a nickel back/special teams demon..... reads like UCF, Oklahoma State, Wake Forest and Illinois in the mix....if Bielema's program wants Marks...would expect him to commit while in Champaign.

Nelsyn Wheeler running back Omaha (Neb.) Millard South High School-Teammate at South with Illini commitment Landon Van Seggren (visiting this weekend)....listed at 5-foot-9, 200-pounds....200-pounds might be correct...doesn't look 5-foot-9....none the less...dynamic back dominates games....rarely does the first defender bring him down....South a big Nebraska Cornhuskers pipeline/Matt Rhule's program hasn't offered Wheeler yet.....seems the Huskers have 4-5 other running backs on their recruiting board ahead of Wheeler right now....Three-star has visits set up with Michigan State, Kansas, and Cincinnati.....Originally committed to Northern Illinois last February before power four offers started rolling in....if Huskers offer...he is Lincoln-bound...hard to imagine him having a great senior season/Nebraska letting him out of the state.

Owen Fors interior offensive line Barrington (Ill.) High School-6-foot-4, 290-pounder plays both tackle and guard....well-coached/excellent technique/can hit a moving target down the field when pulling on the sweep....tape shows ability to play in both a power/outside zone blocking scheme...don't see many high school's that can block both styles effectively....Barrington a rich kid's school and usually don't want to take a rich kid to play o-line (don't need football as much can go back and work for their dad when things get tough).....Fors could be the exception....nasty player plays to the whistle....finishes....likely comes down to Ilinois and Northwestern.

Will Vala tight end Downers Grove (Ill.) North High School-2026 In-state blue-chip tight end's Mack Sutter (Dunlap High School) and J.C. Anderson (Mt. Zion High School) get more hype but Vala is just as good or better than both...reason why think that?....6-foot-3, 230-pounder much more physical than either player mentioned above....Versatile can play tight end/defensive end/outside linebacker next level....Illinois, Hoosiers, and the Badgers battling for Vala.

Illini commitments scheduled to officially visit this weekend...

Cam Thomas linebacker Lakota East (Ohio) High School

Casey Thomann offensive line Olney (Ill.) Richland County High School

Kenyon Alston wide receiver Orlando (Fla.) Bishop Moore High School

Landen Von Seggern offensive line Omaha Millard South

Michael Clayton quarterback Miami Edison…transferred from Seminole (Fla.) High School to Edison for senior season

Davon Grant wide receiver DeKalb (Ill.) High School

Parker Crim defensive end Lima (Ohio) Elida High School

Kingston Shaw defensive end Orlando (Fla.) First Academy

Jacob Alexander Lincoln-Way (Ill.) East High School

*Bielema’s defense picks up another lineman out of transfer portal...

-Recently 6-foot-7, 275-pound Bemidji State defensive end Eli Coenen committed to Illinois last week....D-2 player reportedly had offers reportedly from several Dakota schools, Baylor and New Mexico among others...He has three years of eligibility remaining...talked to a college assistant in the same conference as Bemidji about Coenen...his thoughts, 'he is that big…..has decent movement feet....should be able to add another 20 pounds of muscle without losing burst....line him up on the right side over a tackle he will be fine once he catches up to the speed/power of the BIG...we were surprised neither Minnesota or Wisconsin went after him....he could play for both’.....Coenen from Baldwin, Wisconsin small town an hour east of Minneapolis.

*Long story short…

-June begins football camp season on college campuses around the country....high school prospects working out in front of college coaches hoping for scholarship offers....having gone for years in Champaign...story of one encounter that was 'different' to say the least.

Go over to Memorial Stadium for a morning one-day….scan the parents in the stands always checking for hot moms……Get the list of prospects working out from a Zook assistant....one kid’s last name caught my eye….From Rock Island High School my home area.....6-foot-5, 290-pound offensive lineman....he is putting his Rocky stuff on to workout...say, 'You any relation to (name withheld to protect the guilty) from Moline?’ (guy who had gone to Moline HS, few years older than me)…....Kid says, 'yeah that is my dad'....holy shit...kid's dad an all-time hell raiser...as he says his father's name...woman from behind comes up gets right in my face...'How do you know his dad?'....big woman good 5-foot-10.....full figured gal as they say....tell her, 'went to high school with him'.... Mother, 'when was the last time you saw him?'.…..'High School' I lied....had seen the guy maybe 15 years earlier being dragged out of a strip club by four cops after trying to choke out a bartender first cop on the scene...didn't want to tell that story.

Next ten minutes...this woman gave me the litany of all the shit kid's father had promised/not delivered....couldn't get rid of her......finally able to end the conversation but not before she told me, 'when you see him ask why he hasn't paid his child support in five years?'.....ummm OK.

Kid's father was a piece of shit no doubt...had 4-5 kids owed child support for all of them…..He liked to tell others he was a bail bondsman…..in reality worked for a bondsman……bounty hunter that got paid in cash most of time how he hid his money from creditors/baby mama's....Asshole ended up dying of testicular cancer at 50....karma man karma.

Lineman signed with Western Illinois...played there couple of years till transferring to Northwest Missouri State...,Mother? her husband after camp came over and apologized for his wife, 'she gets so pissed when she hears his name'....Ya think?.....Illini assistants enjoyed watching me try to squirm away while she was talking…’What you never called her back?’….when told the story…’wow…small world’.