Late on Tuesday night, the Illinois football program added another player to the mix.
Building depth should be priority No. 1 for Bret Bielema and the Illini coaching staff. So far, through just over a month, this has clearly been at the top of the list. In the short amount of time Bielema has been at the helm, Illinois has added a nice lot of players. Georgia’s Prather Hudson is joining that group.
Back on December 11, Hudson decided to end his career with the Bulldogs and enter his name in the transfer portal. On Tuesday night, Hudson made the decision to end his recruitment and picked the Illini as his landing spot.
During my time at UGA I learned to be BOLD. Walk-on. Bet on yourself. Earn a scholarship.Shoot your shot. No goal is too big. I tried to give UGA everything I had. It’s time to be bold again. So excited to be continuing college football for one more year at the Univ. of Illinois! pic.twitter.com/LgTa9SLXYI
— Prather Hudson (@PRAYHUD) January 27, 2021
Coming out of Brookstone High school in Georgia, Hudson was an unknown to the power-five programs. He decided to walk-on to Georgia and would eventually earn a scholarship. He redshirted in 2016. Hudson then saw action in 15 games in 2017, mostly on special teams.
As a redshirt sophomore in 2018, Hudson was a running back for Georgia and had 15 carries for 64 yards in 14 games of action. During the 2019 and 2020 campaigns, he was more of a special teams player and saw some action on both sides of the ball.
Now Hudson is landing in a new home. He is listed as a defensive back on the Georgia Bulldogs website, but it sounds like he could be whatever Bielema needs him to be. That is going to be important for the Illini.
Where will Hudson fit in with the Illinois football program?
Since Hudson can do it all on the field, I believe Bielema has flexibility with the talented playmaker. Illinois’ roster isn’t deep, so realistically, he could play anywhere and help the program. But there is one area of the field where I think Hudson would help the most.
Defensive back.
Illinois is extremely thin in the secondary. We have some good pieces in Marquez Beason and Tony Adams both returning. Eddie Smith, the transfer from Alabama, should provide help too. But I believe depth has been the Illini’s bugaboo for quite some time now. Hudson would help fill that void.
I love this addition for Illinois. Hudson can be used anywhere on the field, but I think the best spot for him would be in the secondary. Let’s keep adding depth so we can compete in the Big Ten.