Illinois Football Seeking to Flip Wisconsin Class of 2026 Commit Jack Janda

On Friday, Illinois officially offered Jack Janda, a 6-foot-6, 245 pound tight end who has been a Wisconsin pledge for nearly two months. Although his mature-beyond-his-years frame immediately leaps out, so do Janda’s overall athletic ability at his size and soft hands. A Michigan native, Janda is ranked as the No. 44 tight end in the country and the 16th-rated player in his state.

Nowadays, it’s hardly out of the ordinary for prospects to field numerous offers post-commitment – which means a couple of things: 1) Verbal commitments don’t hold as much water as they used to, and 2) the race for a recruit is never over until pen hits paper on signing day.

The Illinois coaching staff learned that the hard way when Barnett was poached by Alabama. And although it’s arguably poor form to chase an already-committed recruit, it's a gray area. In reality, if a program can offer a player a better opportunity at playing time, a preferrable culture or, especially in today’s NIL-driven era, more money, there’s no reason a player shouldn’t have that opportunity presented to him and be allowed the chance to weigh his options. A verbal commitment is just that.

It's uncertain whether that was at the forefront of the minds of the Illini coaching staff when they extended an offer to Janda on Friday. In any case, the message is clear: Illinois is very interested in Janda. And with his combination of physical gifts (size and athleticism), it’s easy to see why.

Although Illinois is just now officially entering the race for Janda, it’s worth noting that he also holds offers from a handful of other top-notch programs in Oregon, Michigan and Miami, among others.

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