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Illinois Football Included in JUCO Lineman TJ Taylor's Top Five: What it Means

Top-10 overall junior college prospect TJ Taylor included Illinois among his top five schools on Wednesday
Jared Shlensky|
Sep 27, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema reacts during the second half 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 reacts during the second half 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 landed junior college offensive tackle Alfred Washington on Tuesday, and a day later coach Bret Bielema and his staff received more good news from the JUCO front: TJ Taylor, a top-10 overall junior college prospect, included Illinois among his top five college destinations.

TJ Taylor's background

Taylor, who just finished his sophomore season at College of the Canyons in California, has been one of the most highly sought-after junior college recruits in the nation.

The No. 9-ranked overall JUCO prospect and second-ranked offensive tackle, Taylor has received 21 scholarship offers. On Wednesday, he narrowed his choices to five. Illinois was among them, along with Kentucky and three ACC schools in SMU, North Carolina and North Carolina State.

Taylor visited Champaign last week when the Illini hosted Maryland, and from the looks of it, everything went well.

TJ Taylor's scouting report

The 6-foot-6, 316-pound Taylor is quite the prospect, and more than deserving of his top-10 overall JUCO rating. Not only is he big, long and strong, but he also has good feet and plays with explosiveness off the line.

It's a bit of a surprise that Taylor played two seasons of JUCO ball, but whatever school he ends up at will be getting an elite prospect. No matter which school he ultimately chooses, it's very likely that Taylor will start right away and anchor an offensive line at left tackle.

Illinois' recruiting competition

Taylor is scheduled to visit North Carolina on Friday, and despite the Tar Heels being a major disappointment under Bill Belichick this year, UNC is far and away Illinois' top threat in the competition to land Taylor. No coach in college football has Belichick's ties to the NFL, and that is intriguing for any potential prospect, especially someone ranked as high as Taylor.

But Bielema may be going harder after JUCO prospects than any other college head coach in the country right now, and he has the Illini on the rise. Belichick and North Carolina are further behind in both areas, which may give Taylor more confidence to sign with Illinois.

That might sound odd after Illinois's signing of another top JUCO offensive tackle in Washington, but Taylor perfectly fits the profile of a left tackle while Washington is expected to be a right tackle for the Illini. With Illinois graduating four of its five starting offensive linemen from this year's squad, including both tackles, Bielema would welcome a pair of proven pillars on the edges of the line. Taylor and Washington can not only coexist but even thrive together in Champaign.

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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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