A useful Illinois football 2022 roster tracker

I would say the Illinois football team met expectations, if not exceeded them, in 2021.

In Bret Bielema’s first season as the Illini head coach, he took a team that finished 2-6 the year prior and formed them into a program that was just one game shy of a bowl berth. We were also 4-5 in the Big Ten, which is one of the best conference records in years.

But we are now into the first offseason for the Illinois football team under Bielema. That means there are some changes already occurring within the program. Transfers in and out, players declaring for the NFL Draft, and players returning for another year will help shape this team into the squad we will see for the 2022 campaign.

Here you will find an Illinois football tracker of players leaving, staying, and going to the NFL Draft.

With every new coaching regime comes offseason turnover. Here are the players Illinois is losing in the transfer portal, and who they are bringing into the program.

Illinois football transfers

Out

• Daniel Barker, TE
• Derrick Smith, S
• Dalevon Campbell, WR
• Desmond Dan, WR
• Deuce Spann, WR – Florida State
• Marquez Beason, WR – Alabama A&M
• Jafar Armstrong, WR
• Eddie Smith, DB
• Donny Navarro III, WR
• Carlos Sandy, WR
• Jakari Norwood, RB

In

• Tommy DeVito, QB – Syracuse
• Fabrizio Pinton, K – Air Force
• TeRah Edwards, DT – Northwestern

The departure of Daniel Barker came as a surprise but, overall, all of the transfers have been expected. I love the addition of Tommy DeVito at quarterback. Illinois got a good replacement kicker as well. TeRah Edwards should be a force upfront on the defensive line.

January 21 Update: Donny Navarro III has entered the transfer portal. He is a graduate transfer. This is kind of a surprise considering Illinois has DeVito coming into the program. Illinois has now lost six wide receivers to the transfer portal.

January 24 Update: Another wide receiver has entered the transfer portal. Longtime Illini Carlos Sandy has decided to find a new home. He announced his decision to transfer via his Twitter page.

Illini running back, Jakari Norwood, has officially entered the transfer portal.

Illinois football players returning

• Kendall Smith, DB
• Luke Ford, TE
• Jamal Woods, DL
• Michael Marchese, TE

Illinois has had two big returnees in the past week. Luke Ford coming back is going to make a huge impact on the program. With Daniel Barker departing to the transfer portal, this paves the way for Ford to be the No. 1 tight end.

I also believe Jamal Woods coming back will stabilize the Illini defensive line. We are already losing Rod Perry, so having Woods returning is going to provide much-needed reinforcements up front.

Illinois football players to the NFL Draft

• Vederian Lowe, Senior, OT – NFL Combine Invite
• Jake Hansen, Senior, LB – NFL Combine Invite
• Blake Hayes, Senior, P
• Rod Perry, Senior, DT
• Alex Palczewski, Senior OL
• Brandon Peters, Senior, QB
• Owen Carney Jr., Senior, LB
• James McCourt, Senior, K
• Doug Kramer, Senior, OL
• Khalan Tolson, Junior, LB
• Kerby Joseph, Junior, DB

It has been a while but Illinois football finally has quite a few potential NFL Draft picks. Two players are confirmed to have received NFL Combine invites in Vederian Lowe and Jake Hansen. I believe there will be at least three more getting an invite as well.

There are so many moving parts to the Illinois football roster. This post will continue to update as time goes on. Continue checking back, and if you see something I missed, let me know on Twitter @WritingIlliniFS.