Cincinnati lost a member of their 2025 recruiting class on Wednesday night after three-star edge rusher Erik Gayle announced his pledge to Illinois via social media.
The local Withrow High School product was looking to become the next hometown hero after originally committing to Cincinnati back on April 15th. However, Gayle took an official visit to Illinois this past weekend and has quickly flipped his commitment to the Illini.
Gayle is currently ranked the 899th ranked prospect and 68th ranked edge rusher in the class of 2025 according to 247 sports. The 6’3″, 215-pound defensive edge was ranked 7th out of the 15 hard commits in the Cincinnati 2025 recruiting class as he held an 86 overall ranking according to 247 Sports Composite rankings.
However, Cincinnati now loses yet another member of the 2025 recruiting class in recent weeks as Gayle now joins former Cincinnati pledge Kolin Wilson as members of the 2025 class that have flipped their commitment in recent weeks.
The 2025 recruiting class is still sitting at 15 members following the departure of Gayle, which is currently ranked 43rd overall according to 247 sports overall team rankings.
