Illinois Football: 5 transfer portal quarterbacks on my wish list for the Illini

4. Zach Gibson – Akron – 4th Year

I know there are people who probably wouldn’t like hearing this, but a player like Zach Gibson might not be a bad option for the Orange and Blue.

What I want is someone who can come in and play a year until the younger guys catch up, but this option goes against what I said I wanted. Gibson is a younger player who could come in and compete. Competition makes players better.

Gibson wasn’t anything special coming out of Georgia in 2019. He was a three-star recruit and would end up picking Akron as his landing spot. In his first two seasons, the numbers didn’t jump off the page. But this past year with the Zips, Gibson put up some solid numbers.

By the season’s end, Gibson would finish with 1,262 yards, 10 touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Yes, most of it came against MAC competition, but those are still good numbers. He was also 4-of-5 for 38 yards against Ohio State in limited action.

I also love the fact Gibson completed 69.4% of his passes. That is extremely encouraging. Literally, as I type this, I am convincing myself that Gibson might be the way to go this offseason.

It wouldn’t hurt to bring more competition into the Illinois quarterback room. Gibson could be thrown in with the young guys and Art Sitkowski, and they can all duke it out for the starting job. Gibson has two visits set up right now with Nebraska and Georgia Tech. It seems that the Cornhuskers are in every transfer’s ear.