It has to be tough to get a player from the state of Florida to come join the Illinois Fighting Illini, but that’s exactly what Bret Bielema and his staff were able to do.
On Monday, it was reported that Tony Williams, a linebacker from Jacksonville, Florida, has decided to go north to play football for the Illini. The person who broke the news was Williams himself, but this has been a decision a long time in coming for him.
According to Jeremy Werner of 247Sports, Williams had wanted to commit to Illinois months ago. Bielema and the Illini had told him that he’d have to shut down his recruitment in that situation, though, and the Florida product hadn’t even yet seen campus.
That changed this past weekend when Williams took an official visit to Illinois. He committed to Bielema and the Illini halfway through the visit and then made the announcement on Monday.
This official visit came after a trip linebackers coach Arcie McDaniel down to Florida to try to make a connection with Williams.
“When Coach McDaniel came to my house, he wanted me to get up there as soon as possible. That was really like my cue if I was really going commit or not because Illinois has always been a priority from the jump. Us just seeing the vibes and everything, it just cleared my vision,” Williams told 247Sports.
Again, that’s quite a trick to get a Florida kid to sign up for midwest winters, but Williams felt the vibes were right with the Illini. The feedback he got from players already on the team made all the difference for him.
“Just spending time with the players and just knowing and having that feeling and just hearing all the players speak about the place. Like guys not even from the state, guys from the state of Florida and seeing how they love it and how they’re able to call it a home,” Williams explained.
Williams is a consensus three-star recruit, ranked as the No. 33 linebacker in the 2026 class. It is worth noting that Rivals and ESPN do rank him as a four-star, though.
Bielema’s 2026 class now has seven commitments and he’s building quite a pipeline to the state of Florida. Williams is the sixth recruit to commit to Illinois from the Sunshine State.
SMU, Miami, Iowa State and Missouri were also in the running.
