COMMIT: Illini land three-star 2025 Homewood-Flossmoor DL Cameron Brooks

Illinois is keeping one of the state’s numerous Power Four defensive line prospects at home. Three-star Homewood-Flossmoor (Ill.) Class of 2025 defensive lineman Cameron Brooks announced a verbal commitment to Illinois on Sunday following an official visit to the UI campus. The 6-foot-3, 270-pound senior chose the Illini over offers from Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa, among several other FBS offers.

• 247Sports ranks Brooks the No. 24 prospect in the state of Illinois’ Class of 2025 and the No. 59 EDGE in the country. Brooks is the No. 1151 overall prospect in the Class of 2025, according to the Composite rankings.
• As a junior, Brooks totaled 58 tackles and 39 pressures.
• Brooks is the Illini’s eighth commitment in the Class of 2025 and first defensive lineman. He is the second prospect to commit to Illinois following a large group of official visitors this weekend, joining three-star Indiana WR Davion Chandler.
• Illinois defensive line coach Terrance Jamison has led the Illini’s pursuit of Brooks.

Why it matters: Brooks is the fifth in-state native to commit to Illinois in the Class of 2025, joining three-star Tinley Park (Ill.) Andrew OL Michael McDonough, O’Fallon (Ill.) native and three-star Cardinal Ritter QB  Carson Boyd, three-star Blue Island (Ill.) Eisenhower DB Andre Lovett and three-star Mount Zion (Ill.) wide receiver Brayden Trimble.

What it means: Illinois is keeping at least one of the state’s talented 2025 defensive linemen at home. The state is overflowing with great defensive line prospects, but the Illini are facing tough competition for the four Top247 defensive linemen — Iose Epenesa (No. 15 nationally), Nathaniel Marshall (No. 80), Jaylen Williams (No. 153) and Christopher Burgess (No. 168) — as well as four-star Composite prospects Gabe Kaminski and Jason Dowell. But the Illini got in early on Brooks and prioritized the Chicagoland native to win a recruiting battle over Lance Leipold and resurgent Kansas as well as Kansas State and Iowa.

What they said: “The coaches, the love they’re showing me, they treat me as a priority,” Brooks said after a junior day visit to Illinois in March. “That’s really important to me. Because a lot of schools, they could say they just want you, but I feel like I’m a priority here and I feel like this is somewhere where I’m wanted and this is somewhere where I could see myself at as well.

“Coach Jamo is a real standout guy. Everything he says is real. He’s going to give you the real. He’s not going to sugarcoat anything. He’s real stand-up with me. He’s one of the first guys who was involved in my recruiting process, so I really appreciate that from him. I really love Coach Jamo, man. He’s just a great d-line coach. His work speaks for itself. He’s sending guys to the NFL, great at developing guys, and he’s a great coach.”

How he fits: Brooks plays on the edge in high school, but he will move inside at the next level. Brooks isn’t that tall, but he has long arms for his height that he can use to gain leverage and extension on blockers. His quickness translates well on the interior, and he can change direction well and break down for tackles in the backfield. Brooks has a solid array of pass-rush moves for a high school junior, and he knows how to use his hands to gain separation and win one-on-one battles. He must continue to add strength, but he has the frame to do so once he gets to college. Give Brooks a few years to develop and learn from Jamison, and he has the potential to be an impact rotational piece with starter upside as an upperclassman.

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