Illinois' Win at Duke Catches Eye of Four-Star Notre Dame Quarterback Commit

Aside from the entertainment value, another positive appears to be emerging from Bielema’s postgame social media dalliances: winning over Illini targets.

On Saturday night, it was Notre Dame quarterback commit Teddy Jarrard who replied to Bielema’s reply (yes, there’s a lot of replying going on), offering a straightforward, between-pals compliment.

Nothing to see here, right? Well, who's to say? Obviously, it gets the wheels turning in the minds of Illini fans (especially in today's fast-and-loose transfer market) and draws a question: Is Jarrard on flip watch? Before we answer that question, let’s take a closer look at what he has to offer on the field:

Teddy Jarrard’s background

A 6-foot-3 pocket passer from the class of 2027, Jarrard is a Georgia native who has been committed to Notre Dame since late July. A four-star prospect, he is tabbed as the No. 14 quarterback in the country, per 247Sports’ composite rankings.

He currently holds 34 offers – including one from the Illini. Jarrard picked up his Illinois offer at the beginning of this year (late January).

What it means

Guessing whether Jarrard is actually a flip candidate is largely a pointless exercise. A harmless congratulations tweet probably shouldn't be the basis for such speculation. But there is a more important (and encouraging, if you're an Illini fan) message in Jarrard’s comment: Illinois is on everyone’s radar.

Uncommitted, committed, little-known recruit, four-star prospect – it doesn’t matter. With the Illini winning at the highest level and earning increasingly greater respect (a move up to No. 9 in the AP pollsays something), prospects across the nation are closely monitoring Bielema's program.

And if the Illini actually manage to steal a Notre Dame commit? That’ll send an entirely different message to the college football world, signifying that Bielema and his staff aren’t just a top-notch developmental program but also a blue-chip recruiting school nearing the status of a college football powerhouse.

At the very least, Illinois is light years ahead of where it was only two years ago (to say nothing of 10 years ago), building excellent recruiting classes and staying in the thick of the race for the best prospects – even those already committed to premier programs.