Could Caden Considine be next under-the-radar recruit turned key safety?

Aug. 18—CHAMPAIGN — Every time Bret Bielema secures a commitment from an in-state prospect with minimal recruiting footprint that will likely end up a safety at Illinois, an alarm should probably sound. A seemingly under-the-radar roster move will likely be anything but once that player's college football career plays out for the Illini. Because there's established precedent at this point. Matthew Bailey had zero other offers before he left Moline for Champaign. He started immediately for Illinois in 2022 and has turned into one of the top safeties in the Big Ten as one of the Illini's top 2027 draft prospects. Mac Resetich was going to play junior college baseball before Bielema offered a scholarship. Now, he's played in 37 games across three seasons while entering this fall as Illinois' projected starter at free safety. Caden Considine could be next. The two-time football state champion and three-sport athlete out of Byron checks every relevant box, as he moves from under-the-radar recruit with minimal interest to Illinois safety. "It's a testament to Coach B.," Resetich said. "He's from the same area we're from. He knows that around that area, there might be a hidden gem here and there. He knows where to recruit and where to find these kids that are big playmakers who might come out of small towns." Considine qualifies. The 6-foot, 215-pound safety was a two-way star at Byron, helping lead the Tigers to Class 3A state titles in 2023 and 2025 while racking up 5,104 rushing yards and 78 total touchdowns on offense and 284 tackles, six interceptions and three forced fumbles on defense in his high school career. His performance in Byron's state championship win against Unity last November epitomized his career at large. Considine rushed for a 3A title game-record 367 yards, scored three touchdowns and made the game-winning pass breakup on fourth down with 16 seconds remaining in the Tigers' dramatic 56-50 victory. That type of high school career still only delivered scholarship offers from North Dakota State and Western Illinois before Bielema and Co. got involved. A winter visit to Champaign came with an Illini offer, and Considine became the first of four late additions — all in-state players — to the 2026 roster. "We said it in our opening press conference," Bielema said. "This program was going to be built from the inside out. If we've got a player in the state of Illinois who can help us win a championship, play big-time football, we want them in the building. We're trying to get as many as we can." This offseason that meant landing Considine and then flipping three more in-state recruits. Illinois added to its late in-state quartet with Mt. Zion wide receiver Jacob Harvey (Illinois State), Prospect wide receiver Nate Cichy (Harvard) and Unity quarterback Dane Eisenmenger (Central Missouri). "We all kind of bonded over being the last guys on the roster," Considine said. "It's not only helped drive us to work hard, but it's kind of brought us together as brothers. I think Illinois recruits, they're not done justice. You're going to find diamonds in the rough here. We're under the radar. We've got some good football being played. Once the guys get to this level and start competing, you start to see that. Hopefully, I'm another one of those names you can look back in a few years and be like, 'Oh, he was one of those guys.' For now, I'm working behind Mac and Matt, and I'm going to learn a lot from them." Considine didn't get to Champaign until summer workouts started because he was closing out his Byron baseball career, which included breaking the IHSA record for career runs scored with 222 that stood for more than 40 years. Later arrival aside, Considine has managed to impress his new teammates and coaches. "He's a super smart player," Bailey said. "The way he's picked up the defense has been super awesome. You don't really expect that out of a freshman. It takes a couple years to get used to college football, but he's kind of taken it head on and been exceptional from a mental aspect." That's a point Ronnie Bradford would co-sign. Illinois' new secondary coach brought up Considine unprompted when discussing how the younger safeties had fared in training camp with only a few missed assignments or missed communication moments of note. Considine's physicality has also been hard to miss. "I've had to tell him he can't be a bull in a china closet," Bradford said. "He's got to be able to come under control at certain points in time. He wants to make everything a violent contact or explosion." Illinois' summer workouts and subsequent training camp this month has marked the first time Considine has been able to focus solely on football. He also played basketball at Byron and views his three-sport background as a positive. He's only known being busy and competing. Now, all of that energy is focused on a singular sport. "I've never been able to actually focus on refining my skills year-round," Considine said. "Now, I'm going to have the opportunity to do that with football. It's going to be amazing, and I should make some leaps and bounds here in year one. It's really finding who I am as a player, finding what I need to do to get better learning from the guys ahead of me to be the best safety I can be. I know the No. 1 way to get on the field is through special teams, so that's been a really big focus for me." Considine is a vocal advocate for playing multiple sports. His basketball and baseball background has influenced the way he moves on the football field and sharpened his competitive edge. He found being a three-sport athlete a positive during his recruitment — especially when Illinois got interested. "When you're playing those types of sports, it gives you a whole facet of agility, fluidity, the ability to transition from one place to another," Bradford said. "Multi-sport athletes are becoming few and far between, so we enjoy them when we get one. Everybody is getting so sport-specific at such a young age. "Some guys can't even track a ball. They don't have a whole lot of tracking ability, depth perception. I always talk in baseball terms, it's easier to come up on a flyball than it is to go back. Some of those guys look at me like I'm speaking a foreign language." The experience Illinois boasts at safety means Considine might face a limited role as a freshman if he's able to get on the field. But expectations are already starting to build about the latest in-state, under-the-radar recruit Bielema took a chance to bring on board in Champaign. It's an opportunity both Bailey and Resetich look back on with gratitude. "The biggest piece of that is they took a chance on me, and they really didn't have to," Bailey said. "I didn't have anybody else believing in me in that way," Resetich added. "It was this one Illinois team that came really out of nowhere and had all the belief in the world in me. That meant something for me."