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Illinois Football RB commit Javari Barnett Flips to Alabama

The Crimson Tide snag away a commit from Illinois Football

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5 months ago

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Illinois Football coach Bret Bielema.
Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

News: In what feels like a rare bit of bad news for Bret Bielema’s squad these days, former Illinois commit Javari Barnett has flipped his pledge to the 18-time national champion Alabama Crimson Tide.

The Tampa, Florida native had a tough decision to make after committing to the Illini back in early April, but ultimately chose to reopen things following a weekend visit to Tuscaloosa, and decided to roll with the Tide. Undoubtedly, the SEC powerhouse will be adding a good one to their backfield rotation. In 2025-24, Barnett racked up 30 carries for 249 yards and 4 scores before being sidelined for the season after 3 games, with a torn meniscus.

It’s a tough loss, no doubt, but not one Illinois can’t recover from. To Bielema’s staff’s credit, it looks like the staff already had a plan in place.

What It Means for Illinois Football – Barnett Flips to Bama

Losing a top talent like Barnett isn’t ideal, especially considering the burst and upside he flashed at Tampa Bay Tech before a knee injury sidelined him in Week 4 of the 2024–25 season. That said, this was not exactly a blindsiding flip. The writing had been on the wall for a bit, and the Illini staff seemed to have another plan in place.

Enter recent RB commit Nelsyn Wheeler.

The Nebraska native quickly became a priority for coach Bielema’s staff, and they pushed hard to get him on campus, likely knowing Barnett’s commitment was shaky. After an official visit to Champaign, the Illini were able to lock him down, despite impressive interest from Wisconsin, Northwestern, Michigan State, Maryland, Kansas, and several others, giving the Illini another strong option for Thad Ward to develop.

With Barnett’s departure, Illinois now sits at 22 commits in the 2026 class, dropping just outside the top 10 in the 247Sports team rankings, currently sitting at No. 12 nationally. Despite the loss, the class still has a chance to finish strong, with several major targets set to announce in the coming weeks. If things break the right way, Illinois is in solid shape to maintain a top-25 class—and possibly climb even higher.

Adian Laughery Illinois Football

Dec 31. 2024. Orlando, FL. USA. Illinois Fighting Illini. Aidan Laughery.  South Carolina Gamecocks. Camping World Stadium. Credit: Jeremy Reper. Imagn Images.

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Kirkland is an expert source for Illinois athletics news. He is the lead Football analyst at Armchair Illini and has been featured in top media publications like Bleacher Report, Yard Barker, Autograph, Newsbreak, CBS Sports and more.

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