Will Vala III

TE · #85 · Illinois · FR · 6'3" · 245 · Downers Grove, IL

First season · TE depth chart, 3rd

Recruiting

2026 class · 247 composite

Three-star high school recruit

The 2026 board
#1211 Perrion Williams ATH · Archbishop Riordan NEV
#1211 Jaylen White QB · Clearwater CHAR
#1263 Will Vala TE · Downers Grove North ILL
#1308 Terrence Penick Jr. LB · South Gwinnett UGA
#1308 Antonio Johnson S · Arlington Heights BYU
TEs in the class
#71 DJ Broughton Jr. Mary Montgomery AUB
#71 Jalen Williams Bloomington South CIN
#74 Will Vala Downers Grove North ILL
#77 Drake DeBaun Shawnee Mission South ISU
#78 Maddox Hunstad Beachside BGSU

Around Will

Projected 2026 starters · 2025 production
QB Katin Houser QB · 3,300 pass yds · 12g · at ECU
RB Ca'Lil Valentine RB · 614 rush yds · 13g
WR-X Collin Dixon WR · 548 rec yds · 13g
WR-Z Hudson Clement WR · 454 rec yds · 13g
WR-SL Brayden Trimble WR · no college stats
TE Christian Abney TE · 12 rec yds · 11g

The situation

Illinois 2025 offense ›
Explosive play rate 11.4% 57
Red zone TD rate 65.7% 28
Line yards per carry 2.4 38
Sack rate allowed 7.7% 23