CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The Illinois football program led by head coach Bret Bielema signed 21 student-athletes Wednesday. Bielema continued Illinois' rise in recruiting by signing his fourth-straight top-50 recruiting class, a feat achieved at Illinois for the first since 2005-09 according to 247Sports' national rankings.
The Illini's 2025 signing class includes 20 freshman and one junior college transfer. The class is comprised of six Illinois natives, three four-star recruits by at least one national recruiting service, and three brothers of Illini stars.
Illinois' 21 signees had an average 247Sports rating of 86.85, the highest average rating in program history. The Illini's last two classes are rated as the two most talented classes in program history, according to 247Sports' ratings that date back to 2001.
Learn more about all 21 signees by clicking the players' names below or visiting FightingIllini.com/FamILLy25.
The signing class roster is also available here.
| 2025 Signing Class |
| Name |
Pos. |
Ht. |
Wt. |
Hometown |
High School |
| Grant Beerman |
LB |
6-4 |
220 |
West Chester, Ohio |
Lakota West |
| Carson Boyd |
QB |
6-0 |
185 |
St. Louis, Mo. |
Cardinal Ritter |
| Cameron Brooks |
DL |
6-3 |
280 |
Chicago, Ill. |
Homewood-Flossmoor |
| Tywan Cox |
DB |
5-11 |
170 |
Miami, Fla. |
Miami Northwestern |
| Logan Farrell |
TE |
6-3 |
240 |
Arlington Heights, Ill. |
John Hersey |
| John Forster |
RB |
5-11 |
190 |
Montvale, N.J. |
St. Joseph Regional |
| Dylan Frechette |
OL |
6-5 |
295 |
Central Falls, R.I. |
Cardinal Newman (Fla.) |
| Erik Gayle |
OLB |
6-3 |
225 |
Cincinnati, Ohio |
Withrow |
| JJ Hirdes |
OL |
6-6 |
280 |
Coopersville, Mich. |
Coopersville |
| RJ Jones III |
DB |
6-1 |
175 |
Fort Pierce, Fla. |
Vero Beach |
| Ismael Kante |
LB |
6-2 |
230 |
Brooklyn Park, Minn. |
Park Center / Iowa Central CC |
| Andre Lovett |
DB |
6-2 |
170 |
Blue Island, Ill. |
Eisenhower |
| Michael McDonough |
OL |
6-4 |
285 |
Tinley Park, Ill. |
Andrew |
| Jershaun Newton |
QB |
5-11 |
205 |
St. Petersburg, Fla. |
Clearwater Central Catholic |
| Griffin Rousseau |
OL |
6-7 |
305 |
Stoughton, Wis. |
Stoughton |
| Xanai Scott |
DB |
5-11 |
185 |
Riviera Beach, Fla. |
Cardinal Newman |
| Grant Smith |
TE |
6-5 |
220 |
Forsyth, Ill. |
Maroa-Forsyth |
| Desmond Straughton |
DB |
6-1 |
195 |
Detroit, Mich. |
Roseville |
| Brayden Trimble |
WR |
6-1 |
175 |
Mt. Zion, Ill. |
Mt. Zion |
| Isaiah White |
DL |
6-3 |
300 |
Indianapolis, Ind. |
Ben Davis |
| Cedric Wyche II |
RB |
5-11 |
195 |
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. |
St.Thomas Aquinas |
Signing Class Breakdown
By Position
DB (5), OL (4), DL (2), LB (2), QB (2), RB (2), TE (2), OLB (1), WR (1)
By State (Hometown)
Illinois (6), Florida (5), Michigan (2), Ohio (2), Indiana (1), Minnesota (1), Missouri (1), New Jersey (1), Rhode Island (1), Wisconsin (1)
By Class
Freshmen (20), Junior (1)
Notes
• 13 anticipated January enrollees:
» Grant Beerman, Carson Boyd, Cameron Brooks, Erik Gayle, JJ Hirdes, RJ Jones III, Ismael Kante, Andre Lovett, Michael McDonough, Griffin Rousseau, Xanai Scott, Grant Smith, Brayden Trimble
• Three Fighting Illini football brothers:
» Tywan Cox (Torrie Cox Jr.), Jershaun Newton (Jer'Zhan Newton), Xanai Scott (Xavier Scott)
• Three four-star recruits:
» Grant Beerman (Rivals), Erik Gayle (ESPN), Jershaun Newton (Rivals)
