Three-Star Tight End Schedules Second Visit With Illinois Football

Vala, who visited Champaign back in March, is scheduled to head south again in June for another tour. Vala currently has 19 scholarship offers but has thus far visited only Big Ten schools (Indiana, Purdue, Rutgers and Wisconsin).

A junior in the class of 2026, Vala visited Indiana in April and is scheduled to head back to Bloomington at the end of June for a second visit there. So as it turns out, not only are the Illini looking to beat the Hoosiers on the field when they meet Sept. 20, but they'll also be hustling to get the best of them on the recruiting trail.

Vala, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound tight end, helped lead the Trojans to the second round of the IHSA 8A playoffs last year and to the IHSA 7A state championship game two years ago.

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