'You can tune a piano....can't tuna fish.'

More blue-chip commitments for Illinois football...

*How cool is the picture?…..Look at all that orange….Former Illini kicker Chris White turned 63 last week….….team celebration after his last-second field goal beat Ohio State 31-28 1985……..was there and still remember the west stands swaying as fans celebrated the win….Those days Mike White would walk home with his family from the stadium after games….good times!

*Bret Bielema’s program keeps stacking blue-chip commitments for the 2026 class…

-Five players verballed to the Fighting Illini last week…

Nick Hankins defensive back Belleville (Ill.) West High School-Hey beat sleazy Mizzou and Tennessee on an in-state prospect from the St. Louis area...that hasn't happened much recently…..an aside…’reports’ have Mizzou spending 31 million on their football NIL on 2024….31 million! to beat some patsies and fade down the stretch….good job Slap-O-witz.

Kai Pritchard interior offensive lineman Toms River (NJ.) Donovan Catholic High School-Rated four-star prospect....good player...four-star?...seems like a stretch....heading into his fifth year with the program…..Bart Miller’s development of high school o-line recruits at Illinois still an issue in my opinion....hopefully Pritchard helps change that.

Isaiah Williams defensive back Missouri City (TX.) Fort Bend Marshall High School-As others pointed out...another Isaiah Williams at Illinois....had a lot of early offers that seemed to fade leaving Illinois, Utah and Oregon State final three....personally wouldn't have taken an early commitment from Williams can get a player as good or better in the Midwest/in-state....get it...staff has spent a lot of time recruiting Texas and need to get a pipeline going....3rd commitment from Lone Star State prospect this class…..speaking of another Isaiah….Isaiah ‘Juice’ Williams back in CU with his son for camp (Layden Williams 2028 recruit from Homewood-Flossmoor)….2026 committed Illinois recruits were one or two years old when Juice helped get Zook’s team to the Rose Bowl…fellas’ your getting old.

Reminds of a story….2007 summer camp….with the music booming….Juice pulls up in his Escalade to watch….coaches shit…’get that fuckin’ truck out of here’…he was told….after all the ‘rumors’ of the Zook era recruiting tactics….last thing staff wanted was other college coaches working the camp to see a high profile player driving a new SUV….supposedly….Williams ‘bought’ the Escalade from O’Brien Auto….financing ‘all above board’…..HA HA HA…..after the 07’ season Williams traded it in for a more ‘economical’ car.

Jaylen Stewart outside linebacker/defensive end Pearland (TX.) High School-Wrote before....Love Stewart at d-end or outside linebacker...easy to flip him from Oklahoma State to Illinois...'Son you want to play in that tennis shoe league the Big 12? Or with the Big Boys here in the B1G?'

Kayden Bennett outside linebacker/defensive end Suffield (CT.) Academy-Listed at 6-foot-2, 245-pound...close to that...Final three were Illini, UConn and Temple...watching his film....stocky edge player on defense/like Stewart Bennett excellent running back....versatile...watch all his game film and you find....moves very well laterally/dropping in pass coverage...that kind of athletic ability makes one think he can play outside/inside at linebacker or fullback/move tight end....again Bennett type of under-the-radar talent when developed....Illini win with.

*Keep an eye on...

-Summer camp season for high school prospects...two in-state youngsters that caught my eye after their recent workouts for college coaches.

-Kaysean Taylor defensive line Rockford Guilford High School-Class of 2027 camped at Iowa and Wisconsin earning immediate scholarship offers from both...6-foot-4, 225-pounder likely one of the top five prospects in-state next class…..bit of a surprise Taylor Guilford teammate 2026 safety Messiah Tilson recently committed to Kentucky….Tilson had offers from most of the B1G including Illinois.

=Noah Garcia quarterback Washington High School-Prep coach who was at many Illini camp sessions said best quarterback he saw working out in Champaign was Garcia....2028 prospect that had 'excellent arm strength/footwork…..can really spin the ball'....only 'highlights' were 9th grade games which....watching him throw Memorial Stadium turf....keep an eye on the 6-foot-1 sophomore....ton of potential.

*People are talking…

-Some intel from recent Illini events attended by the staff.

-Hoops yes hoops....staff more 'worried' about getting proper transcripts for admission vs. visa issues regard to incoming European recruits...Underwood’s staff likely on the out's with a certain in-state AAU program...seemed their reps wanted a lot more for the services of a former player interested in coming back to CU vs. what Illini were willing to spend (‘agent’ who also involved AAU program leaked 'done deal' to the on-line media types thinking that would help seal the deal)....Player ended up taking quite a bit less (reportedly) to play his final season on the west coast...good for staff not falling for those tactics.…..as has been reported elsewhere….looks good for the reunion/salute to the 2005 Illini Final Four team weekend of football home opener vs. Western Illinois…couldn’t work out logistics to have get together last winter.

-Football....Bielema and director of player personnel Pat Emberton reportedly handle all the NIL evals for the team......prevents assistants letting their bias get in the way of who should be getting the best deal....agree with that strategy.

-Who will catches passes for the Illini this fall?....staff very impressed by Ball State transfer Justin Bowick......West Virginia transfer Hudson Clement had his moments unfortunately ended spring ball banged up.…..’hope’ he is 100 percent come fall camp....Former four-star recruit/junior wide receiver Malik Elzy staff 'thinks' the light has come on for the former Simeon prep....'maturity issues' held him back but has gained the confidence of the coaches off-season...junior running back Kaden Feagin should be full go come training camp.

-Per the chatter.....USC and Ohio State seem to be the consensus toughest Illini games this fall 'USC going to be a lot better than many think' quote from a staff member....looking forward to going to Durham play Duke 'give them some bully ball...they don't see that much in their conference'..…..two ‘basketball schools’ playing a big early season football game.

*'Guess that Illini.'

-Four-star hoops recruit....rarely got off the bench for any meaningful playing time in his two seasons in Champaign....'weed and a crazy girlfriend' got in the way of his development....another player that would miss practice to 'hang out' with his girlfriend when she 'wasn't getting enough attention'....got the benefit of the doubt/plenty of '2nd chances' in CU cause he was an 'Illini Legacy'.....ended up transferring to a school in the southwest....stayed a year with little production....Guess that Illini.