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Illinois Football: What the transfer of Larry Boyd means for the Illini

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - OCTOBER 28: Wisconsin Badgers linebacker Garret Dooley (5) passes rushes against Illinois Fighting Illini offensive lineman Larry Boyd (76) during the game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Illinois Fighting Illini on October 28, 2017 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - OCTOBER 28: Wisconsin Badgers linebacker Garret Dooley (5) passes rushes against Illinois Fighting Illini offensive lineman Larry Boyd (76) during the game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Illinois Fighting Illini on October 28, 2017 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Illinois football team lost a few members of the family on Tuesday.

Brett McMurphy of the Stadium Network reported that Larry Boyd has decided to transfer from the Illini. Shortly after those initial reports, Jeremy Werner of 247Sports confirmed the transfer of Boyd and also added that Andrew Trainer was transferring out of the program as well.

Coming out of high school, Boyd was looked at as a solid recruit. He was a 6-foot-5, 360-pound offensive tackle who was ranked as the No. 455 player in the class of 2017. Boyd received immediate playing time when he entered the program. He started nine games at offensive tackle and played in all 12 contests. But, last season, he had to take a redshirt because of academics. Now he is looking for a new home.

Trainer was a tight end coming out of high school. He came in at 6-foot-7, 245-pounds and was ranked as the No. 1519 player in the class of 2016. Trainer redshirted his first year in Champaign and then moved to offensive tackle as a redshirt freshman. He saw one game of action in 2018 and is now trying to find a new home.

What do these two transfers mean for the Illini? Well, Trainer wasn’t going to see playing time, so I completely understand why he is transferring. I hope he finds a program that best suits his needs and where he can see the field. The Boyd transfer, by far, hurts the most.

Boyd provided depth for this Illinois offensive line, and he was young too. His transfer is going to make an impact on this Illini team for a few years. I don’t know if he would have started in 2019, though. I have Vederian Lowe, Kendrick Green, Doug Kramer, Alex Palczewski and Richie Petitbon as the starters for the Illini. But, Boyd would have been right there fighting for the starting job with Lowe.

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Losing players is never fun, especially when it is someone like Boyd who is going to compete for a starting job. Illinois now needs to finish off the class of 2019 with one or two more offensive linemen.

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