Israel Abrams has been named the 247Sports Preseason Player of the Year in Illinois for the 2026 high school football season, and the Montini Catholic senior quarterback has the numbers and reputation to back it up.
The 6-foot-4, 187-pound signal-caller from Lombard put together a huge junior year in 2025, throwing for 4,072 yards and 40 touchdowns against six interceptions while completing 233 of 340 passes in 14 games, according to MaxPreps. That production helped make him one of the most closely watched quarterbacks in the country heading into his final season.
“There hasn't been a more fun tape study in the senior class at quarterback than Izzy,” said 247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins. “I call him an artist.
He's a painter with a variety of different strokes. He's also an ultra competitor that has yet to lose a game.
He pushes the pace like few others, but somehow keeps it under control when it matters the most.”
247Sports national scouting analyst Hudson Standish also pointed to how far Abrams has come as a player.
“Abrams has grown from an effective dual-threat passer with the ability to stretch the field vertically into a game-wrecker with the ability to score with his arm or legs from just about any spot on the field,” Standish said. “The Miami five-star commit has an opportunity to go three-for-three on state titles as a starter and finish his career undefeated. If Abrams can remain perfect, he will almost assuredly finish his career as one of the best quarterbacks the state of Illinois has ever produced.”
Abrams spent the summer at The Opening Finals and was a top performer at the Elite 11 Finals. He is also scheduled to play in the 2027 Navy All-American Bowl and the 2027 adidas Polynesian Bowl.
Known widely as “Izzy,” Abrams has already established himself as a difference-maker at the high school level, and his goals for the fall are as ambitious as his résumé. He wants to finish his career 38-0 and lead Montini Catholic to a third straight state championship.
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Saban also used the conversation to return to a familiar point about conference strength, expressing skepticism about how the ACC stacks up against the SEC and pointing to the difference in the number of top 25 teams. For Miami, the endorsement matters because it comes from one of the sports most successful voices and because Cristobals pitch has already translated into on-field progress. The bigger question now is how far that recruiting edge can carry the Hurricanes as they try to turn recent gains into something even more lasting. [Read more 🡒]