Illinois Lands Three-Star Offensive Lineman Mason Halliman: What It Means

Illinois coach Bret Bielema's 2027 recruiting class has been far from smooth sailing. The Illini thought they had their future quarterback in Utah high schooler Kamden Lopati, but the four-star recruit ultimately decided to decommit from Illinois and go to Michigan.

Fortunately for Illinois' sake, Lopati's decision hasn't stopped major recruits from choosing the Illini. Three-star offensive lineman Mason Halliman (Lincoln Way East / Frankfort, Illinois) on Saturday announced he is coming to Champaign, giving Illinois its second 2027 recruit.

Who is Mason Halliman?

Halliman will be a senior at Illinois high school powerhouse Lincoln-Way East this fall and ultimately picked Illinois over multiple Big Ten programs, most notably Iowa and Michigan. He will be reuniting with former high school teammate Jacob Alexander, who is a freshman linebacker for the Illini.

A 6-foot-5, 280-pound offensive lineman, Halliman plays left tackle for the Griffins but is expected to move inside to guard or maybe even center in college. Halliman is the 13th-ranked overall recruit in Illinois and the 30th-ranked interior offensive lineman in the nation, per 247Sports.

Halliman is at his best in the run game, which is why the potential move from tackle to guard makes sense. He has a solid first step and, despite being tall for a potential guard, does a nice job lowering his pad level in the run game.

How Mason Halliman fits at Illinois

Bielema and his staff learned the hard way once already with Lopati, so until Halliman signs his letter of intent, he technically still isn't Champaign-bound. But assuming Halliman sticks with Illinois, his commitment is big for a couple reasons.

First and foremost, it keeps him away from another Big Ten school. And considering Michigan and Iowa have had a lot of recent success recruiting the state of Illinois, Halliman choosing the Illini was a big win.

And more importantly, Illinois lacks youth on the offensive line. Four of Illinois' projected starting offensive linemen are upperclassmen, including redshirt-senior center Jake Renfro and senior right guard Brandon Henderson. So adding someone who could potentially play multiple positions for multiple seasons is important.

2027 recruiting class update

Halliman joins three-star cornerback Justin Johnson as the Illini's only two recruits in the 2027 class. Johnson committed to the Illini back in March and ultimately chose Illinois over more than a dozen schools, including six Big Ten programs.

That might sound like a four-alarm fire when you consider that Oklahoma already has 21 commitments and nine other Big Ten programs have at least 10, but some of those numbers track with where a program is at in terms of its roster-building cycle. (Defending national champ Indiana, for instance, has only four commitments from the class of 2027.) The Illini still have plenty of time to address their near-term needs.

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