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Illinois Football: Top 5 transfer portal quarterbacks for the Illini 1.0

By Rees Woodcock

Oct 1, 2022; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema looks on during the second quarter against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 1, 2022; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema looks on during the second quarter against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /
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NC State quarterback Devin Leary (13) passes the ball during the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina Saturday, October 1, 2022.Ncaa Football Clemson Football Vs Nc State Wolfpack /

The transfer portal has officially begun, and the Illinois football team is sure to be right in the mix for some top talent.

This past offseason, the Illini were able to land 2022 starting quarterback, Tommy DeVito. The former Syracuse quarterback did wonders for the Illinois offense, and that is what I want to happen this offseason as well.

Illinois could use a quarterback for a year or two as the young guys continue to improve. There are plenty of options already out there, but who are some of the top names I am looking at early on?

Here is a list of the top five transfer portal quarterbacks the Illinois football team should target 1.0.

1. Devin Leary

Illinois could use a strong quarterback to start the 2023 campaign, and the best option in my eyes is Devin Leary.

Coming out of Timber Creek High School in New Jersey, Leary was a four-star recruit and the No. 372 player in the class of 2018. He was wanted by many, but he would eventually stay on the east coast and pick North Carolina State as his landing spot.

With the Wolfpack, Leary had a great career. He took over the reins full-time in 2021 and ended up throwing for 3,433 yards, 35 touchdowns, and five interceptions that season. Thanks to some injuries in 2022, Leary didn’t put together a full campaign, but he still had a solid statistical year. He would finish with 1,265 yards, 11 touchdowns, and four interceptions.

I believe Leary has one more year left in him, and it would only make sense to go to an Illinois team that proved in 2022 that a quarterback can come into a ready-made situation and succeed like Tommy DeVito did this season.

There are also some connections with Illinois. Leary’s brother, Donovan, joined the Illini this past season as a freshman. He is also on the roster. It would be nice to have the older brother come to Illinois for one season to help show the ropes to the younger brother.

I also want to touch on one more thing. Bret Bielema has experience with transfer quarterbacks out of North Carolina State. If you don’t remember, when Bielema was coaching Wisconsin, he was able to land Wolfpack transfer quarterback, Russell Wilson. That ended up turning out well for the program. I think this would be a great marriage as well.

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