Bret Bielema receives sad recruiting update as 4-star CB trades Illinois football for SEC mainstay

Zain Bando

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Bret Bielema receives sad recruiting update as 4-star CB trades Illinois football for SEC mainstay image

Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

All seemed right when taking a 10,000-foot view of Illinois football's 2026 recruiting class. However, Saturday night saw a rather unexpected shift, and it could prove costly.

According to On3's Hayes Fawcett, Ohio cornerback Victor Singleton flipped from the Fighting Illini to the Texas A&M Aggies after having pledged to Bielema in February.

Singleton was considered coach Bret Bielema's biggest recruiting win of his tenure thus far. The Illini were gunning for the top spot in the 2026 247Sports Composite Rankings, and while they still can, it'll likely be an uphill climb during the remainder of the cycle.

At press time, Illinois ranks No. 10 nationally with 13 hard commitments and recently secured help on both sides of the ball. These pledges came from Palatine, Illinois, offensive lineman Tony Balanganayi this past Wednesday, Florida cornerback Almirian Thomas two days prior, and Florida linebacker Tony Williams this week alone.

The grass may be greener on the other side, but this might come back to bite the Illini after all. They are attempting to ride momentum after a 10-3 season this past year, which included Bielema's first bowl win in his Illini tenure, which ended a 13-year team drought.

Nevertheless, it'll be interesting to see how the Illini bounce back, as they just wrapped up their spring practice schedule before school gets out for summer next month.

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Illinois returns 17 of 22 bowl game starters after running back Josh McCray departed the program last Tuesday in an unexpected transfer portal twist.

Barring anything unforeseen, the Illini should be in a prime position to contend for a College Football Playoff and Big Ten title berth, as their favorable schedule sets up nicely with a mix of must-win potential against Duke, Ohio State, Washington, and USC.

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Zain Bando

Zain Bando is a freelance writer for The Sporting News. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism. Over the years, Bando has written about various beats surrounding Illinois, Northwestern, and Kansas State Athletics but sticks to the Big Ten as his primary expertise. Outside of collegiate reporting, Bando covers MMA and boxing for MMA Knockout On Sports Illustrated and hosts/co-hosts two podcasts as part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network – Bando's Breakdowns and The MMA Outsiders, which air weekly on YouTube and are distributed on all podcast platforms Tuesday nights and Wednesday afternoons. Bando is a Chicago Suburban native and a member of the FWAA and USBWA, continuing to hone his professional skills as a sports journalist and media personality. Since June 2019, Bando's byline has been seen across many mediums, including MSN, Yardbarker, Deadspin, FanSided, BJPenn.com, Bridge Media Network (Sports News Highlights), Mike Farrell Sports, Reuters, and more. When Bando is not writing, he binges on old UFC fights, spends time with family and friends, memorizes every Super Bowl, and manifests all the places he still has to travel to (even while bringing his laptop).