When King Liggins started high school at Brother Rice, college football wasn’t even his radar.
But that changed quickly. The 6-foot-4, 280-pound defensive lineman, who will be a senior in the fall, has the size and toughness colleges look for. Suddenly, he decided he could dream big.
“It was crazy when I started getting offers my freshman year summer,” Liggins said. “Me and my coaches started talking and I realized, ‘Wow, I really have a chance to play at the next level and then maybe even higher than that in the NFL.’
“I’ve just been grinding since then, and it’s really special to see that hard work start to show.”
It all became a reality Wednesday when Liggins committed to Illinois.
Liggins, who had 37 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks last season, is rated as a three-star recruit and the No. 18 prospect in the state for the 2026 class.
After receiving over 20 scholarship offers, Liggins narrowed his choices down to Wisconsin and Illinois before picking his home state school.
“I loved the family atmosphere, and it’s somewhere where I feel like I can get to the next level — the NFL,” Liggins said. “They have a plan for me to get to that next level, and I believe that they can help me get there.
“I just thought, ‘Why not stay home, create a legacy and do something that’s never been done there?’”
Liggins announced his choice on YouTube, starting a big day for the Illini. Hours later, Morgan Park receiver Nasir Rankin also committed to Illinois via YouTube.
Liggins hopes he and Rankin can start a wave of local players staying home for college.
“Nasir and I played against each other in eighth grade, so we know each other,” Liggins said. “It’s great because not a lot of guys from our area go to Illinois.
“I feel like this is going to start a trend. We have a state with a lot of good football players. Why not stay together, stay home and go to Illinois?”
Rankin is rated a four-star recruit and the No. 8 player in Illinois in the 2026 class by Rivals. He piled up 48 catches for 1,126 yards and 17 touchdowns during a breakout season last fall.
Rankin, who also has a scholarship offer from the Illini for basketball, plans to attempt to play both sports in college.
Liggins, meanwhile, is relieved to be done with recruiting and ready to put all his energy back into football.
“It feels great to know all the recruiting process is over and being able to just focus on my football season this year is really great,” he said. “The process was very crazy.
“I had to do a lot of research on my own on schools and coaches and that ultimately pushed me to come to Illinois, too.”
The Illini appear to be trending upward under coach Bret Bielema, going 10-3 last fall and finishing No. 16 in The Associated Press rankings.
“They’re a really good program but they’re not cocky,” Liggins said. “They genuinely have a hungry team. They have something to prove. They come to work every day and that’s what I want to do.”
Liggins is excited for summer practices but certainly isn’t satisfied. He knows there’s plenty of room for him to get better for his senior season at Brother Rice.
“This offseason, I’m trying to find anything in my game that I need to work on,” he said. “I’m working on transition pass rush a lot right now. I know there are other little things I can improve on.
“Every offseason, I want to get better. I want to get to the NFL and that’s going to take hard work. I also have to be able to critique myself. I think the more you can do that, the better you can be.”
