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This list will cover the best and brightest of the Illinois high school football recruits of 2025 including the player’s measurements, analytics, statistics , positions, current rankings, high school program, their prospective colleges, and much more. All of these talented and exciting players will most likely be attending some of the biggest and most prestigious Division 1 college football programs in the country. Iose Epensa, Edwardsville The number one overall rated Illinois high school football 5-star recruit is the defensive lineman, Iose Epenesa , out of Edwardsville High School located in Edwardsville, Illinois.
Epenesa is currently listed at 6-foot 4-inches and 270 pounds, and he has decided to sign with the University of Iowa Hawkeyes over the Miami Hurricanes, Utah Utes, Missouri Tigers, and the Penn State Nittany Lions to begin his college football career. Iosa is a superior athlete who has competed in track and field in high school, and he has a love for playing basketball too. Throughout his high school football career Espenesa has compiled a total of 171 tackles, 22 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries.
Last season in 2024 while he was a senior Iosa recorded 51 tackles, 7 sacks, 1 forced fumble as well as 1 blocked kick while also getting some offensive snaps at the wide receiver and tight end positions. He finished his monster senior football season by setting the all-time sacks record at Edwardsville High School with a total of 22. Back in 2023 Espenesa finalized his junior high school season with 46 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, 7 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 2 blocked kicks.
During his Sophomore All-American campaign he participated in snaps at multiple positions such as along the defensive line and at tight end for a high-octane Edwardsville football program that competed in the second round of the Illinois 8A playoffs that year. In 2022 Espenesa finished with a very solid 56 tackles, 14 tackles for a loss, 6 sacks, and 1 fumble recovery. Then way back in 2021, Iose was also a two-way player seeing snaps on both sides of the ball as a freshman where he caught 11 passes for a total of 220 yards and 3 touchdowns all while recording 18 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, and 1 fumble recovery.
Quite a well-rounded freshman season for a youngster just starting out high school. Talyn Taylor, Geneva Communit y Talyn Taylor was the second highest ranked Illinois high school football recruit of the 2025 class by earning himself a 4-star rating. The 6-foot 190-pound wide receiver out of Geneva Community High School in Geneva, Illinois has already committed to the University of Georgia Bulldogs for his freshman year of college football beginning in the summer of 2025.
Although Taylor injured his knee during his high school Junior year, he still seems to possess the same big-play capabilities he has always demonstrated on the gridiron. Talyn managed to run a 23.15 200 as well as a 6.
77 indoor 55 as only a high school sophomore. His long jump measured an 19-7.5 too.
In 2024 he led Geneva to the Illinois 6A championship title game . Taylor finished his senior year with an amazing 84 completions which were good for 1,617 yards (19.3 YPC) and 24 touchdowns while adding 2 kickoff returns for touchdowns.
Then back in 2023 he missed games due to injury, but managed to return for the quarterfinals of the Illinois 6A playoffs where Taylor helped his team by catching an astonishing 32 passes for 512 receiving yards and 6 touchdown receptions. He also threw for a touchdown as well as rushing for another touchdown. In 2022 Talyn completed his sophomore year season with 51 catches for 745 receiving yards and 8 total touchdowns.
Nathaniel Marshall, Fenwick Nathaniel Marshall is my third highest ranked Illinois high school football recruit of the 2025 class. This senior from Fenwick High School located in Oak Park, IL is a dominant edge-rusher, and he has signed with the University of Michigan Wolverines for the upcoming college football season. He plays with passion and authority on the field as Marshall’s ability to change direction so decisively has definitely led him to earning a 4-star recruit rating.
During the 2023 high school football season the 6-foot 4-inch and 265-pound edge-rusher was named the Conference Defensive Player of the Year . That year Nathaniel stacked up 38 tackles (16 for a loss), 6 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and 4 blocked kicks. He also caught 4 touchdowns on offense for his team.
In 2022 Marshall was a key player for a Fenwick High School as they only went 5-5 but were able to made the first round of the Class 6A playoffs in the great state of Illinois. This two-way player amazingly played snaps as a wildcat QB on offense too as he earned himself the title of Chicago Catholic League Defensive Player of the Year as well as IHSFCA All-State Honorable Mention. Christopher Burgess Jr.
, Simeon The fourth top ranked Illinois high school college recruit (4-star) is Christopher Burgess Jr. , and this young man is presently measured up as 6-foot 3-inch and 265-pound defensive lineman from Simeon High School in Chicago, IL. He has committed to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for this upcoming college football season.
During the past high school football season (2024) Burgess Jr. posted 101 tackles , 8 tackles for a loss, 8 quarterback hits, 5 sacks, and 1 forced fumble over the course of his 11 games as a senior. In 2023 while Christopher was a junior, he registered snaps at multiple defensive line spots, from 4-point stances on the interior to the somewhat periodic 2-point edge reps.
He battled through several injuries, but he managed to still finish that season with 36 tackles, 16 tackles for a loss , 13 sacks, 6 pass break ups, and 2 forced fumbles. Throughout the 2022 season Burgess Jr. played from the edge becoming a relentless QB rusher as well as the interior of the defensive line while just a sophomore in high school.
Dierre Hill, Althoff Catholic Dierre Hill is the next top ranked player with a 4-star rating. He hails from Althoff Catholic High School which so happens to be located in Belleville, Illinois. Dierre weighs in at 180-pounds and his height comes in at around 5-foot 11-inhces.
He remains loyal to the University of Oregon Ducks for the upcoming college football season, and he was also a track star in high school. Hill really made a name for himself in 2024 by collecting the Gatorade Player of the Year Award in Illinois for the 2nd straight football season by leading Althoff Catholic to a Class 1A state championship title. Dierre ran the ball 155 times which led to 2,588 rushing yards (16.
7 YPC), 40 touchdowns, 6 touchdown receptions, and 2 kick return scores that year. Hill also rushed for a state-record 443 yards in the title game against Lena-Winslow High School as he finished that spectacular performance with 518 yards of total offense and a miraculous 7 total touchdowns on that glorious day. Back in 2023 as a high school junior, Dierre busted out for 1,788 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns on 13.
6 yards per carry. He managed to catch 9 passes for 163 yards, and he took care of business by throwing 1 touchdown pass. While also playing for his squad on defense, Hill compiled 32 tackles, 3 interceptions one of which was a pick 6, and 2 kick returns for touchdowns as well.
In 2021 he ran for 1,120 yards and 24 touchdowns as a young freshman football player. He is one of hell of an athlete that should be a fan favorite in Eugene, Oregon very soon. Jaylen Williams, Palatine The Palatine pounder, Jaylen Williams , played his high school ball at Palatine High School in Palatine, IL where the 6-foot 6-inch 265-lb.
defensive lineman terrorized his team’s opposing offenses. This 4-star recruit is headed to Madison, Wisconsin to play for the Badgers of the University of Wisconsin next season. Williams has played varsity football ever since his freshman year of high school.
He earned All-State and All-Conference as a junior, and he was All-Conference in track and field as a thrower too. Jaylen seems to really have a knack for getting off the ball extremely fast and can disrupt the opposing offenses’ backfield early on in plays. Burke Gautcher, Sycamore The seventh highest ranked Illinois high school football recruit of 2025 goes to linebacker, Burke Gautcher , of Sycamore High School located in Sycamore, IL.
His height is posted at 6-foot 3-inches and 215-pounds. Burke is also a 4-star recruit that is headed to the University of Iowa Hawkeyes program along with Iose Epenesa. In 2023 (junior season) the two-way player in Gautcher lined up for snaps at both safety on defense as well as quarterback on offense causing Burke to be named Daily Chronicle Footballer Player of the Year .
He recorded a team-high 70 tackles (10 tackles for a loss) and 4 interceptions on top of 1,084 passing yards and 12 touchdowns to accompany his 589 rushing yards (9.5 YPC) and rushing touchdowns. Gautcher help lead Sycamore High School put together a great overall record of 9-2 as they reached the second-round of the Illinois state playoffs that year.
Dominik Hulak, Immaculate Conception Dominik Hulak comes in at the number 8 spot on this list chalked full of outstanding young football players. Hulak is heading to South Bend, Indiana soon to start working with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish program. This 3-star edge-rusher measures up at 6-foot 3-inches and 225-pounds.
Dominik played his high school ball at Immaculate Conception High School in Elmhurst, Illinois. As a junior in 2023 Dominik recorded 36 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, and 1 punt block. He also contributed by pulling in 13 receptions which was good for 212 yards.
During the previous football season (2022/sophomore year) Hulak filled the stat sheets with 57 tackles , 3 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 2 fumble recoveries, and 1 kick block while also catching 8 passes for 133 yards and 2 touchdowns. Brayden Trimble, Mt. Zion The pride and joy of the Mt.
Zion High School in Mt. Zion, Illinois, Brayden Trimble , is a nifty 3-star wide receiver who weighs in at 175-pounds on a 6-foot 1-inch frame can really move the ball down the field quickly for his team. Beginning this college football season Brayden will be suiting up for the University of Illinois Fighting Illini .
Look for Trimble to light up the Big Ten conference over the course of the next few years unless he decides to use the newly founded NCAA college football transfer portal in order to move to another University. Donovan Robinson Jr., Loyola Academy Donovan Robinson Jr.
is primarily found playing linebacker most recently with Loyola Academy High School located in Wilmette, Illinois. Robinson Jr. is 6-foot 3-inches and he weighs 210-pounds.
While at Loyola Academy he played a huge part in helping his football team win a state title as a junior playing the following positions: receiver, safety, linebacker, and Donovan also returned punts. He played basketball as well. For being a fairly large individual, many scouts find his speed and athletic ability to be quite incredible.
Robinson Jr. will be attending the University of Washington to play ball for the Huskies. One of his best attributes is that he is quite a utility player that can play so many different positions demonstrating his exception spatial coordination as well as his extremely functional athleticism.
It will be interesting to see how the Washington Huskies decide to use him in the near future..
