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Illinois adds pair of defensive commitments to 2024 recruiting class

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Illinois is working on putting together the 2024 recruiting class, and Bret Bielema’s staff picked up a pair of important wins on Sunday.

The first of the evening came from Demetrius John, a 6-foot-4 and 250-pound defensive lineman out of Dublin Coffman High School in Dublin, Ohio. John received interest from Indiana, Vanderbilt, Boston College, West Virginia and Ohio among others before taking an official visit to Champaign over the weekend.

He announced his commitment Sunday evening:

According to the 247 Sports Composite, John is a 3-star recruit and the No. 80 DL in the nation for the 2024 recruiting class. He’s also the 26th overall player out of Ohio for the cycle.

Following behind John, Utah linebacker prospect Easton Baker also committed to the Illini late Sunday evening. Baker was also on an official visit over the weekend and cited the time spent with the defensive staff and Bielema as reasons for committing to Illinois.

The 247 Sports Composite rates Baker as a 3-star recruit and the 107th LB in the country for the class of 2024. Listed at 6-foot-1 and 212 pounds out of Stansbury High School in Tooele, Utah, Baker had significant interest nationally. Oklahoma, BYU, Arizona State, Boise State and Liberty were some of the programs to offer Baker.

With the pair of commitments, Illinois is up to 5 pledges for the class of 2024. Demetrius John becomes the highest-ranked prospect in that group as things currently stand.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.