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Illinois Football Flips Jacob Harvey, Signs Another Receiver – What It Means

The Illini landed former Illinois State commit Harvey and reeled in the explosive Leslie Mosley Jr. on Thursday
Jared Shlensky|
Sep 27, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema gives players a hand after a 34-32 win against the Southern California Trojans at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
Sep 27, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema gives players a hand after a 34-32 win against the Southern California Trojans at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

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Illinois Fighting Illini

Illinois football will already welcome one of the best high school wide receivers in the nation to Champaign soon in Nasir Rankin, but on Thursday the program landed another native son at the position when it flipped Illinois State commit Jacob Harvey. And to top it off, the Illini also added to their 2027 recruiting class by signing junior wide receiver Leslie Mosley Jr.

Jacob Harvey, wide receiver

Harvey had originally committed to Illinois State, but the Illini offered him a scholarship and he signed with the program on Thursday.

A 6-foot-2, 190-pound receiver out of Mt. Zion (Illinois), Harvey finished with 928 receiving yards on 53 catches and scored 11 touchdowns as a senior in 2025. As a junior two years ago, he led the Braves to the Class 4A state title game, finishing with 58 catches for 1,112 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Harvey is the second Mt. Zion receiver to sign with Illinois over the past two years. Brayden Trimble, Harvey's former high school teammate, just finished his freshman season with the Illini. Trimble played in three games in 2025 before redshirting, and don't be surprised if Harvey follows the same path.

Making the jump from high school to the Big Ten is no small task, and despite Illinois having a lot of question marks at the receiver position, Bret Bielema and his staff will likely ease in Harvey.

Leslie Mosley Jr., wide receiver

Most receivers who stand under 5-foot-10 do their damage in the slot, but don't tell Leslie Mosley Jr. that. A student at Cardinal Newman (West Palm Beach, Florida), Mosley measures up at just 5-foot-9 and 155 pounds but turned in most of his production lining up outside the numbers.

No matter how Mosley Jr. gets the ball – screen, check down, deep ball, shuffle pass, etc. – he's a threat to take it to the house every single time. In 10 games for the Crusaders this fall, Mosley finished with 52 catches for 1,001 yards and 10 touchdowns. His vision, speed and lateral quickness are off the charts, and when he arrives in Champaign in 2027, he may get a chance to make an immediate impact – if not as a starter on the outside, then perhaps deployed in other ways.

Mosley will need to put on some weight to survive the Big Ten grind, but he is lightning in a bottle. You can imagine Illini offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. tinkering with plays that get him in space the way Lunney had done for former Illini Hank Beatty. Mosley could get a crack at return specialist duties, too.

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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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