Top 25 wide receivers in Illinois high school football in 2024

Who are the top 25 pass catchers in Illinois in 2024? SBLive scoured the state and narrowed down the best of the best

Morgan Park (Illinois) star receiver Nasir Rankin (No. 7) walks out for the coin toss. / Photo by Dean Reid, SBLive

Who is the top wide receiver in Illinois high school football in 2024?

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After taking a look at the top quarterbacks and running backs, SBLive scouring the state and took a look at the top running backs, spanning all IHSA classifications and corners of the Prairie State.

Here are the top 25 quarterbacks in Illinois:

TOP WIDE RECEIVERS IN ILLINOIS

Cameron Bates, sr., Grayslake North 

He had 578 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns last fall for the Knights. In four games this year, he’s up to 487 yards receiving and 5 scores through the air. He also has run for two scores as well. Bates holds four offers from FCS schools.

DeAndre Coates, sr., New Lenox Lincoln-Way West

The 6-foot-2 receiver picked up an offer from Marshall this past spring and got an offer from Butler in August and visited the Indiana school in September. In four games this year, he has 22 catches for 336 yards and 4 touchdowns for the Warriors. 

Dayvion Ellis, sr., Arlington Heights St. Viator

The 3-star recruit put up 1,503 all-purpose yards and 12 touchdowns last fall. North Dakota, Marshall, Kent State and Bowling Green have all offered him. 

Mar’Quan Gary, sr., Normal Community

As a junior, he accounted for nine touchdowns between rushing and receiving. He averaged 19.1 yards per catch last year. This year, the Illinois State pledge hauled in four touchdowns in the first two games. 

Davon Grant, jr., DeKalb

The 6-foot-4 receiver is a 3-star ranked recruit. He holds 7 offers, drawing interest from Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Illinois State. Grant had 18/402/5 last year as a sophomore. A basketball player as well, he was the DeKalb Chronicle Boys Athlete of the Year for the 2023-24 school year. 

Devyon Hill-Lomax, jr. Edwardsville

In three games this year, he has 8 catches for 78 yards and a score for the Tigers — the touchdown coming in a win against Jackson, Mo. The 6-foot-4 receiver has offers from Memphis, Kentucky and Illinois heading into his junior season.

Noah LaPorte, sr., Princeton

The 6-foot-5 target is a 3-start recruit who is headed to Northwestern next year. He had 34 catches for 517 yards and eight touchdowns last fall for the Tigers.

Dyllan Malone, sr., Yorkville 

Malone had 28 catches for 350 yards and a touchdown last year for the Foxes. The 6-foot-3 target has committed to Northern Illinois. Malone was a state qualifier in the 4x400-meter relay this past spring. 

Jimmie Maxson III, sr., Chicago Brother Rice

North Dakota has landed the services of the 6-foot-4 target next fall. He posted 23 catches for 693 yards and 9 touchdowns last for the Crusaders. In a Week 4 loss to Loyola Academy, he had 14 catches for 98 yards and a score. 

Quinn Morris, sr., Naperville North

Morris got offers from Michigan and Minnesota back in 2022, but he is currently uncommitted. He transferred from Plainfield East and put up big numbers for the Huskies. He’s hauled in 15 catches for 322 yards and 6 touchdowns in four weeks.

Luke Olson, sr., Niles Notre Dame College Prep 

He’s back out on the field this year after missing 2023 with an injury. He impressed school during summer camps and picked up an offer in June from Illinois State — the next day he committed to the Redbirds.

Braden Peevy, sr., Chicago DePaul College Prep 

He’s among the leaders in receiving yards in 2024 in Illinois. The 6-foot target had 8 catches for 182 yards and 2 touchdowns in a Week 4 win for the Rams versus Chicago St. Patrick. That was a career-best in yards in a game, while he career-best 9 catches in Week 1 against Deerfield. 

Nasir Rankin, jr., Chicago Morgan Park 

The junior picked up an offer from Duke before a Week 4 game, which followed offers from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Northwestern. The Whitney Young transfer has 12 catches for 411 yards and 4 touchdowns in four games for the Mustangs. 

Chase Reynolds, sr., Collinsville

He did a little bit of everything last year for Collinsville with 419 yards receiving, 238 yards rushing and 147 yards passing with 11 total touchdowns. He’s been moved to quarterback this fall but is listed as an ATH and will probably see time at WR or CB at Southern Illinois

Austin Roswell, sr., New Lenox Lincoln-Way West 

The 6-foot-1 target holds four offers, including Illinois State, averaging 19.2 yards per catch last year. He was a state track qualifier last year in the 200- and 400-meter dashes — and broke the school record in both. 

Eli Olson, sr., Jacksonville Routt Catholic/Lutheran

In 4 games in 2024, he is on pace to surpass what was a solid 2023. This year, he has 19 catches for 528 yards and 7 touchdowns. In 9 games last year, he had 9 touchdowns on 58 catches for 745 yards.

Terrence Smith, sr., West Aurora

The four-star recruit is headed to Iowa City next year to play for the Hawkeyes. The 6-foot-3 target has 3 touchdowns in three games on seven catches this fall. Last season, he posted a line of 59/906/11 for the Blackhawks.

Coy Taylor, sr., St. Joseph-Ogden

He’s posted back-to-back 1,000-plus yards, including 1,342 yards and 12 touchdowns last year for the Spartans. The all-state player has 37 catches with 436 yards and two scores while rushing for 121 and 3 scores in 2024. 

Talyn Taylor, sr., Geneva

About every time he touches the football this year, he scores. The Georgia recruit had 14 catches for 9 touchdowns and 390 yards in four games. He has 23 receiving touchdowns in his career and even thew four touchdowns last year. 

Brayden Trimble, sr., Mt. Zion

The 6-foot-2 target had offers from Big 12, Big Ten and SEC schools but will be staying in-state and headed to play for Bret Bielema at Illinois. He posted 69 catches for 981 yards and 12 scores in 2023 — after having 12 scores and 1,134 yards as a sophomore. 

Zachary Washington, jr., Wheaton St. Francis

He’s a three-star recruit who has 7 catches for 110 yards and 3 touchdowns for the Spartans this year. Two of those touchdowns came against Loyola Academy. He holds 13 offers from the likes of Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Ole Miss and Miami. Washington had 44 catches for 777 yards and 12 scores last year. 

Jack Wheeler, sr. Morris Community 

The 6-foot-5 target is an Illinois pledge — but for baseball. He’s pretty good on the gridiron too. In Week 2, he hauled in 5 catches for 190 yards and a score in a win over Coal City.  He averaged 24.3 yards per catch and had 4 touchdowns last fall for the Redskins.

Amari Williams, sr., Wheaton Warrenville South

In a 31-0 win in Week 4, he hauled in three touchdowns for the Tigers. He has seven touchdowns in four games this year. The two-star recruit is committed to Northern Illinois.

DeShaun Williams, Naperville Central 

A three-star recruit, has 18 catches for 221 yards and 4 touchdowns in four games in 2024. The Indiana State commit had a line of 29/445/3 last fall. 

Ian Willis, Wheaton St. Francis

The 5-foot-10 target had 11 Division I offers but will head to Illinois State next year. As a junior, he had 80 catches for 1,072 yards and 17 touchdowns. In three games this fall, he has 11 catches for 144 yards and a score.

-- Cody Thorn | @sbliveill