Illinois Football: Illini take depth hit as lineman enters transfer portal
The class of 2020 brought some decent talent to the Illinois football team via the recruiting and transfer market.
While the national recruiting ranking wasn’t high – No. 88 in the nation – I did love some of the players who joined the Illini program from the 2020 class. James Frenchie and Reggie Love brought the Trinity Catholic connection. We also had numerous transfers like Rod Perry and Brian Hightower, to name a couple.
One of the transfers from the 2020 class was Brevyn Jones. He was a 6-foot-5, 270-pound offensive tackle who originated from Birmingham, Alabama, but Illinois received Jones via the transfer portal from Mississippi State.
Jones didn’t get a lot of playing time with the Illini last season, though. As a redshirt freshman, he saw action in just two of the eight games Illinois played in the COVID-shortened season.
On Monday, Jones’ time with the Orange and Blue came to an end. The Rivals Portal announced that Jones had entered the NCAA transfer portal and is looking for a new home.
2019 3-star OL Brevyn Jones, who signed with Mississippi State before transferring to Illinois in 2020, has entered the transfer portal; played in 2 games last season with Illini @rivalsmike @IllinoisRivals https://t.co/0mA4jqZofB
— NCAA Transfer Portal (@RivalsPortal) June 29, 2021
Jones departing the Illinois football program comes as a bit of a surprise to me.
I figured Jones wasn’t going to start for the Illini, but I assumed he was going to be some sort of backup at the tackle position. Illinois has a lot of talent upfront right now, so the starting offensive line is kind of set.
Back on June 14, which is just over two weeks ago, Jones seemed happy with the Illini on Twitter. He was posting about 100-percent capacity for the upcoming season. He also mentioned that he was locked in for the season that started on August 28.
Since those posts, Jones hasn’t posted a single thing on his Twitter account. That says to me that something has happened in the last two weeks. I am not sure what it could be, but Jones is clearly not a happy camper when it comes to the Illinois football program.
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I wish Jones nothing but the best moving forward. I hope he finds the right spot for him to flourish as a player. Illinois is on a mission to be a perennial winner. Hopefully, this works out for both parties.