One of Illinois’ top targets for the 2019 class, Jahleel Billingsley, has committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide. The tight end out of Chicago is the 294th-ranked player in the nation and the 11th-ranked at his position. It’s an expected disappointment for Illinois, but it raises questions in the greater college football world. Namely, is the era of Nick Saban’s stranglehold on college football coming to an end?
I’m not the first to ask this question. This fall, Alabama will field its first freshman class since 2010 that wasn’t ranked #1 in the country by 247sports.