Breaking: Illinois football confirms huge boost for 5 star commits
The class of 2025 is starting to take shape. While the Illini have the country’s No. 63 class, there are some good players committed thus far.Bret Bielema is far from finished with this class, however. Numerous names remain on the board, with one appearing only a few days ago.
On Sunday, Dawayne Galloway Jr. announced on social media that he had withdrawn from his pledge to Purdue. He had committed to the Boilermakers on July 5, but his recruitment is now fully open.
— Writing Illini (@WritingIlliniFS) October 6, 2024
Galloway has received responses from a variety of programs since reopening his recruitment, according to On3.com. The following teams were listed: West Virginia, Michigan, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Penn State, Miami (FL), Colorado, and Illinois.
Talent and development should be a nice bargaining chip for the Illinois football program when it comes to recruiting Dawayne Galloway
There’s a reason why so many top programs are quickly pursuing Aaron Galloway, less than 24 hours after he reopened his recruitment — he’s an exceptional talent.
Galloway is a 6-foot-1, 175-pound cornerback from Marion-Franklin High School in Ohio, rated as a four-star recruit. He’s ranked as the No. 192 player in the class of 2025, the No. 22 cornerback nationally, and the No. 8 player in Ohio.
Several prominent programs have already reached out to Galloway, but Illinois has a strong chance to make up ground with the talented defensive back. The Illini have built a reputation for developing NFL-caliber players. In 2023, Devon Witherspoon was drafted fifth overall and made the Pro Bowl as a rookie, while Quan Martin became a key player in Washington’s secondary after being selected in the second round. Additionally, Sydney Brown has made a significant impact with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Illinois’ track record of producing standout defensive backs continues, with Kerby Joseph being drafted in 2022 and Nate Hobbs in 2021. The trend shows no sign of slowing down, as Illinois is expected to have another defensive back drafted in the 2025 NFL Draft.
With this reputation as “DB U,” Illinois presents Galloway with a compelling opportunity to follow in the footsteps of recent Illini stars and carve out his own path to the NFL. It’s a powerful selling point when recruiting top high school talent like Galloway.