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Illinois Football Offers Florida Quarterback and Texas Linebacker – What It Means

With the transfer portal closed, the Illini extended scholarship offers to a pair of high school recruits from fertile football hotbeds
Jared Shlensky|
Dec 30, 2025; Nashville, TN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema hoist the trophy with Doug from Liberty Mutual against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
Dec 30, 2025; Nashville, TN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema hoist the trophy with Doug from Liberty Mutual against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

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The transfer portal is closed (except for national championship game combatants Indiana and Miami), and Bret Bielema and the Illinois football staff have turned their recruiting focus to high school underclassmen with an offer to sophomore quarterback Brycen Marbrey, of Florida, and junior linebacker Anthony James, of Texas, on Wednesday.

Brycen Marbrey, quarterback

Marbrey is a sophomore at Lake Howell (Winter Park, Florida) who led the Silverhawks to a 6-4 record after passing for 2,087 yards and 26 touchdowns in 2025. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Marbrey threw just four picks and has a big, big arm.

Already one of the best quarterbacks in Florida, Marbrey has a chance to assert himself as the top quarterback in the state by his senior year. His arm strength immediately stands out on tape, as does his deep-ball accuracy. He is comfortable throwing on the move but is at his best operating from the pocket. He is comfortable throwing from different arm angles, but he gets the best results throwing on time and from a traditional arm slot.

Marbrey isn't much of a runner, but if he can get faster and become more agile, he could climb into four-star-recruit territory in the next year or two. Over time, he will also need to improve his completion percentage (53 percent).

With nine Division I offers already – including three out of the Big Ten (Rutgers and Purdue, in addition the Illini) – Marbrey appears to have a bright future. Illinois has done pretty well wooing players out of the Sunshine State, and Marbrey could be one the Illini pursue hard over the next two years.

Anthony James, linebacker

James is a junior linebacker at La Marque (Texas) who has thus far received four Division I offers, all of which came within the past 10 days. James is a little undersized (200 pounds) for a typical Big Ten inside linebacker, but at 6-foot-3, he has the frame to grow into the position. If that doesn't pan out, he could be considered at safety.

James has an innate ability to track the ball, and he has the stats to back it up: 134 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, three sacks and one forced fumble. He is at his best working against the run, and does a really nice job of picking the right hole to plug. James will need to improve his lateral quickness and pass defense at the second level in order to keep piling up Power 4 offers.

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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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