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Illinois Football: Alec Bryant is a huge addition to the Illini roster

By Rees Woodcock

Dec 30, 2019; Santa Clara, California, USA; General view of the Illinois Fighting Illini helmet during the second quarter against California Golden Bears at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2019; Santa Clara, California, USA; General view of the Illinois Fighting Illini helmet during the second quarter against California Golden Bears at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports /
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Illinois football has landed one of the top transfers on the market for 2021.

The Illini roster has gone through some serious roster changes since Bret Bielema took the reins roughly nine months ago. This roster adjustment has moved some defensive ends to the linebacker role for the program. Bielema and his staff are now adding one more former defensive end to the linebacker corps.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Illini received word that Virginia Tech transfer Alec Bryant is transferring to Illinois. This is a huge transfer snag for the Orange and Blue and one that will help the team tremendously for years to come.


Coming out of Shadow Creek High School in Texas, Bryant was one of the top players in the nation. He was rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 329 player in the class of 2020. He was also the No. 17 weakside defensive end in the country and the No. 47 player coming out of Texas.

Despite some of the biggest programs in the country coming after Bryant, he decided to commit to Virginia Tech. Bryant would see limited action with the Hokies during the COVID year in college. Now, with four years of eligibility remaining, Bryant finds himself with a new program in the Illini.

What impact does this have on the Illinois football program?

The addition of a former four-star who is still trying to find his place is a great, impactful, move by the Illini. Defensive coordinator Ryan Walters seems to be leaning toward a lean and mean defense in 2021.

Illinois has flipped some of their core defensive linemen to the linebacker role for the upcoming season. What this means to me is that we are about to run a 3-4 defense for the majority of the time. Illinois needs more linebackers to play a 3-4 defense, so having Bryant come in as an outside linebacker is huge for the Illini.

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Bryant will be eligible to play this season, so having him come into camp right now is important. I have my doubts he will see early playing time based on others being in the system longer, but by mid-season, don’t be shocked to see Bryant as a primary backup. I can’t stress enough how big of an addition Bryant is to the Illini.

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