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Illinois Football Offers Trio of Three-Star Recruits: Can the Illini Land Them?

Safety Braeden Presley, athlete Justin Johnson and receiver Sheldon Isaac are all on Bret Bielema's radar
Jared Shlensky|
Sep 20, 2025; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema walks onto the field prior to the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images
Sep 20, 2025; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema walks onto the field prior to the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

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Illinois Fighting Illini

Despite a blowout loss to Indiana last week, Illinois has remained busy on the recruiting front, offering a trio of three-star recruits on Thursday. Head coach Bret Bielema and his staff offered safety Braeden Presley(Bixby, Oklahoma), safety Sheldon Isaac (McComb, Mississippi) and athlete Justin Johnson (Evanston, Illinois).

Below. Illinois on SI gives you the skinny on each:

Braeden Presley, 2026 safety

Presley is currently committed to Oklahoma State, but after the Cowboys fired former head coach Mike Gundy earlier this week, there's a decent chance that he will decommit. Presley is the ninth-ranked player in the state of Oklahoma and 45th-ranked safety in the nation, per 247Sports.

In three games this season, Presley has been used in all three phases. The senior has seven catches for 145 yards and two touchdowns, and on the other side of the ball has racked up seven tackles, one pass breakup and an interception.

Before committing to Stillwater, Presley had over 10 scholarship offers, including four from SEC programs – Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt – and two more out of the Big Ten in Maryland and Purdue. Expect Presley to receive a handful of offers over the next two weeks, but don't be surprised if he doesn't act on them until his senior season concludes.

Will the Illini land Presely? Seems doubtful. Given his ties and their recent performances, Presely seems more likely to choose Oklahoma over Illinois.

Justin Johnson, 2027 athlete

Johnson has nine scholarship offers despite being only a junior. The ninth-ranked player in the state of Illinois and 14th-ranked athlete in the nation, per 247Sports, plays both wide receiver and cornerback for the Evanston Wildkits and could potentially play both ways in college.

A 6-foot-2, 190-pound speedster, Johnson also runs track at Evanston, suggesting he could be utilized in multiple ways as a college player. He already has three Big Ten offers, and more should arrive over the next year or so.

Northwestern and Illinois would seem to be likely landing spots for Johnson. Northwestern is located in his hometown and could offer a player of his caliber the chance to play right away. Illinois is a home-state school located just a couple hours down the road, and it offers Johnson a greater opportunity to win in the Big Ten and develop his skills set.

Sheldon Isaac, 2027 wide receiver

Isaac is a junior with nine scholarship offers, including four out of the SEC (Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Texas A&M). He is the 14th-ranked player in the state of Mississippi and the 45th-ranked wide receiver in the nation, per 247Sports. At McComb, Isaac has eight catches for 182 yards and a touchdown for a team that is 4-0 on the season.

Ole Miss or Mississippi State figure to be fierce competition for Illinois in the pursuit of Isaac. Lane Kiffin's offense suits Johnson's skill set quite well, and Mississippi State is in his home state. The pull of the SEC will be a difficult one to overcome for Bielema and his staff.

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Jared Shlensky
JARED SHLENSKY

Jared Shlensky is a contributing writer for On SI and a freelance play-by-play broadcaster. Jared was previously a sports betting writer for Yardbarker, an On-Air YouTube Personality for the Sports Geek and a minor league play-by-play broadcaster.

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