Illinois Football: Depth takes a hit as Illini linebacker enters transfer portal

It looks like a member of the family has departed the Illinois football program.

The transfer portal has been good to the Illini as of late. We got our starting quarterback for the 2022 campaign, Tommy DeVito, from the portal. He entered the program after spending his entire career with the Syracuse Orange.

But it now looks like the transfer portal is biting us a little bit. On Monday, Illinois linebacker Kalen Villanueva decided to put his name into the portal, according to the Rivals.com NCAA Transfer Portal Twitter account.

Villanueva entered the Illinois program last season as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 1918 player in the class of 2021. He was also the No. 216 linebacker in the nation and the No. 55 player coming out of Virginia.

The former Illinois coaching staff was able to land Villanueva, and he stuck with the program through a coaching change. But it looks like it is time for the talented linebacker to move on.

How does the Kalen Villanueva transfer impact the Illinois football team?

In Villanueva’s lone year with the Illini, he had to sit out due to injury. He didn’t get a chance to play, so this transfer doesn’t hurt too much. The biggest impact it would have is on depth, and I think Bret Bielema’s ability to recruit will help fill the hole left by Villanueva.

Villanueva played more of the middle linebacker role on the Illinois football team. Thankfully, we have some talent in that spot right now. Calvin Hart Jr. is just a junior and if he can expand on the one game he played last season, and stay healthy of course, then he is our No. 1 middle linebacker.

Tarique Barnes is also just a junior. His development over the past couple of seasons has been impressive. I believe the coaching staff likes Malachi Hood as well. He is a true freshman out of Joliet, Illinois. Hood enrolled early, so look for him to get snaps this fall due to his ability to know the calls and speed of the game thanks to spring ball.

I think Bielema has Illinois on the right path with recruiting and player placement. While it is never fun losing anyone and having to replace them, the Illini seem to have a better sense of depth with this coaching staff. Look for us to add more linebacker talent down the road as well. This should be a position of emphasis in the next couple of recruiting classes.