Illinois football strikes a Chicago pipeline with 2 local commitments this week
Bret Bielema talks beating Northwestern for win No. 9
The Illini won their ninth game for the first time since the 2007 season. Bret Bielema reflected on that moment.
The Illinois basketball pipeline from Chicago to Champaign has been well documented. Dee Brown, Ayo Dosunmu and many more have decorated the history.
Illinois football is reinforcing its own pipeline from Chicago to Champaign.
The Illini and Bret Bielema got two commitments from Chicago on the same day, landing Morgan Park wide receiver Nasir Rankin and Brother Rice defensive lineman King Liggins.
What we know:
Rankin and Liggins committed to Illinois on Wednesday. Both join the Illini's class of 2026.
That class ranks ninth in the nation currently with 16 hard commits, including Rankin and Liggins.
"I felt like this was the best decision going forward," Liggins told 247Sports after committing to Illinois live on YouTube. "I'm going to be dominant."
"There's a lot of trust there," Rankin also told 247Sports after committing to Illinois live on YouTube. "They put a lot of guys in the NFL. I feel like I could be the next one."
Rankin is the first four-star prospect to commit to Illinois' class of 2026. He projects as a dynamic receiver who finished his junior season at Morgan Park with 40 catches for 991 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Liggins had 37 tackles and 1.5 sacks in the 2024 high school football season. He's rated as a three-star recruit and the No. 18 prospect in Illinois in the 2026 class.
Both these players are next for the Illini in the pipeline, which is only growing.
What's next:
Bielema has been slowly but surely winning on the recruiting front in the Land of Lincoln. He's increased the number of commits from Illinois slowly but surely over the past three years.
In 2024, Bielema had four Illinois natives in the '24 signing class. 2025 had seven Illinois signees.
So far, 2026 has six and seems primed to easily clear the seven Illinois native commits he got in the 2025 class.
Bielema has added plenty of players from the surrounding Chicago suburbs to his rosters. The 2026 class now includes two commits from Chicago high schools.
Time will tell how many more Bielema will add from Chicago, but his Illini team is strengthening its pipeline to Chicago where he'll compete with Notre Dame, Northwestern, Michigan, Wisconsin and more.
Illinois is starting to win more of those recruiting battles.