Illinois Football: Illini looking for defensive line help in the transfer portal

The Illinois football team is trying to turn the tides when it comes to the transfer portal.

This offseason has been pretty brutal to the Illini when it comes to players departing. Over the last week or so, Illinois has lost numerous players to the transfer portal, most coming from the class of 2021. But there have been some good moments for the program via the portal as well.

Illinois has their starting quarterback, Tommy DeVito, thanks to the portal. Bret Bielema and his coaching staff continue to look for other talented players who could help the team in the immediate future as well. One of the most recent players the Illini are eyeing is Terry Hampton.

Coming out of El Dorado High School in 2018, Hampton was rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 1753 player in the country. The scholarship offers were limited, but the defensive tackle ended up choosing Arkansas State as his landing spot.

With the Red Wolves, Hampton showed flashes of his potential. He was mainly a backup for his first two years, but started every game in 2020 and tallied 35 tackles, six tackles for loss, and two sacks. This past season, Hampton went down with an injury six games into the season. He did finish those six games with 11 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss.

Where would Terry Hampton fit on the Illinois football roster?

Hampton would come into the Illinois program with one year left of eligibility. He would have exhausted all eligibility, but the COVID year gave him extra time. It would be nice to have more experience on the defensive line.

I believe Illinois’ starters are pretty set on the defensive line. Johnny Newton will be anchoring the middle with Keith Randolph Jr, Jamal Woods, Deon Pate, TeRah Edwards, and Verdis Brown all fighting for snaps. Calvin Avery is a sneaky option as well.

If Hampton did come into the program, he would be fighting for backup snaps. He would be an insurance policy for Bielema in case Illinois deals with injuries this season.

I would not mind bringing in Hampton. If he is okay with not being a starter, then there is a place for him on the roster. But if he is looking for a starting job somewhere, this probably isn’t the right place. Hopefully, we can bring him in and bolster up the defensive line.