Illinois has finally landed a Class of 2026 tight end – and it may not be the last.

3-star Will Vala committed to Bret Bielema’s program. The Downers Grove product is 6’3 and 235 pounds, and had offers all across the Big Ten nation. He was supposed to take an official visit to Indiana and Wisconsin on June 13th and June 20th, respectively. However, just days after a visit to Illinois on June 6th, he committed to Illinois.

Vala has seen an avalanche of offers starting this Spring. His first offer was Illinois State. Then the Big Ten schools started calling.

He told me in April, ”I'm not like a 6 '6, prototypical tight end, but they said with my physicality and athleticism, they see that I can kind of move around from an H-back or in-line tight end or slot receiver to wide out.”

“So think they can move me all around the field, and I can do a lot of different things,” he added.

When Vala met Bielema in April, he was a “super great guy, funny, respectful.” Vala has met dozens of coaches, staff and players, and enjoyed his visits to Champaign. Vala took notice in Bielema’s track record of sending tight ends to the NFL throughout his time at Wisconsin, Arkansas and Illinois. That was a plus during the recruitment.

Will other Class of 2026 tight ends join Vala? The Illinois would probably like that. They are heavily recruiting two 4-star tight ends from Central Illinois: JC Anderson and Mack Sutter.

Anderson is from Mount Zion, and was former teammates with current Illini wide out Brayden Trimble. Anderson has visited Illinois several times, including official visits and going to football and basketball games. When I asked people connected to college recruiting, the info I got back was Illinois was a top contender, even front-runner, to land Anderson, who also has offers from Ole Miss, North Carolina, and Auburn. Anderson will make his collegiate decision on July 1st, according to a 247 Sports Report.

Sutter is from Dunlap, and is the highest ranked player in Illinois. According to Rivals, he just cancelled an official visit to Penn State. His offers include Illinois, Alabama, Ohio State and Ole Miss. He is said to visit Illinois again on June 18th. His younger brother, Bo, who also has a scholarship offer from Illinois, is expected to visit, too. His collegiate decision will be made June 26th, according to an On3 report.