Illinois Football lands OL Zafir Stewart

Illinois Football lands OL Zafir Stewart

Illinois Football unfortunately did not land Luke Williams from Naperville North, however the bitter taste did not last for long. Bret Bielema and his staff have added 5 recruits to their class of 2024. Each commitments seems to be more impressive as the last. Illinois Football landed OL Zafir Stewart, a 6-foot-4, 320-pound Philadelphia native. Stewart held an impressive offer list. Holding power-five offers from Penn State, Ole-Miss, Pitt, Maryland and Nebraska.

Stewart is the second offensive line commit to the class of 2024 along with in-state native, Brandon Hansen. Additionally, Illinois Football landed Eddie Tuerk from Lyons Township high school. Tuerk has positional versatility that could allow him to slide over to either line of the ball.

An offensive lineman sell.

Bret Bielema has had an impressive run of linemen in his coaching career. Bart Miller has also helped spearhead Bielema’s sell while at Illinois. Each offseason, Bart Miller seems to land offensive line prospects with legitimate power-five offers. The sell is resonating at Illinois as players like Doug Kramer and Vederian Lowe had their best seasons as Illini under Miller. This led them to find their way onto NFL rosters.

Additionally, Julian Pearl and Isaiah Adams are all-americans who return for their final season of eligibility. This leaves the door open for young talent such as Stewart to have immense opportunity.

Building Depth

Illinois has added some JUCO offensive linemen to add competition to this current roster. However, the future is bright and young. Brandon Henderson was a key piece and win over Iowa State that has held his own as a true freshman. Landing Zafir Stewart is another foundational piece in Bart Miller’s room. Additionally, there is young talent such as TJ McMillen and Zach Aamland who will eventually develop into strong pieces for Illinois.

Offensive line recruiting has been very impressive under Bret Bielema, and Bart Miller deserves lots of credit for the results on and off the field. Illinois is clearly capitalizing on momentum built during the weekend’s official visits. Bielema has been nothing short of impressive. Despite losing a top in-state prospect to Purdue, Bielema continues to have a high hit rate. I am so excited to watch the prospects that he personally recruited play huge roles for Illinois.