Illinois Football: Illini building depth to sustain transfer portal hits

The roster is starting to shake out after Bret Bielema took the reins of the Illinois football program last season.

I was surprised by the number of players who stuck with the Illini despite the coaching change. But this offseason, we are starting to feel the effects of the Bielema era. On Monday, linebacker Kalen Villanueva decided to enter the transfer portal. Just a day later, he was followed by two other Illini in Joriell Washington and Brody Wisecarver.

What do all three of these players have in common? They were all commitments from the class of 2021, which was the previous coaching staff’s final group they brought into the program.

I would say Wisecarver is the biggest blow to the Illinois roster. He was the highest-rated recruit and the only top 1000 player from the 2021 class. His offensive line presence would have been nice for years to come.

Washington would have brought solid depth to the Illinois secondary, and Villanueva is someone who could have developed into a serviceable linebacker. But Wisecarver is definitely the biggest hit of the three.

Illinois football is building depth to sustain transfer portal hits.

I went over the impact Villanueva would have on the team on Tuesday. He would have been a depth piece for a few years, and he would probably have been a backup for the majority of his time at Illinois.

Washington’s impact on the roster is a little bigger. He would have been a backup for a year or two and then had a chance to start. Illinois currently has Sydney Brown who should be our main safety. Kendall Smith is going to step up into a more prominent role as well. Depth is definitely not set at safety, though. We need more bodies for the future.

Easily, the most frustrating transfer is Wisecarver. Illinois took a huge hit after last season on the offensive line. Those hits will only continue as Alex Palczewski is in his final season with the team and Isaiah Adams only has two years with the program. Depth on the offensive line is already a worry, but now one of our best young offensive linemen has departed.

Thankfully, Bielema was prepared for some type of change with the class of 2022 he brought in. Many of the recruits have enrolled early, and the positions noted above have somewhat been addressed.

Illinois has seven offensive linemen coming in, and some of those players have already participated in spring practice. Illinois added three defensive backs and four linebackers to the mix as well.

Losing players to the transfer portal is never fun, but we have a head coach who can recruit and build programs. That is why I have confidence that we can sustain this hit. Illinois football should still be strong in the coming years.