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Illinois Football: Best transfer portal targets for the Illini 1.0

By Rees Woodcock

Nov 18, 2023; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; The Illinois Fighting Illini warm up before the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 18, 2023; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; The Illinois Fighting Illini warm up before the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 11, 2023; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Kansas State Wildcats cornerback Will Lee III (8) celebrates a stop during the fourth quarter against the Baylor Bears at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 11, 2023; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Kansas State Wildcats cornerback Will Lee III (8) celebrates a stop during the fourth quarter against the Baylor Bears at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Will Lee III

  • Position: Cornerback
  • College: Kansas State Wildcats
  • Hometown: Saint Louis, Missouri
  • Eligibility Left: 2 Years

With the first three slides, I addressed some serious needs for the Illinois football program. Getting a good linebacker and some good offensive linemen is a must. I also believe the Illini need to bolster the secondary. A player like Will Lee III would do the trick.

Coming out of Saint Louis, Missouri, Lee had some decent recruiting attention. He was a three-star recruit who was ranked as the No. 1936 player in the class of 2021. He was also the No. 261 wide receiver in the country and the No. 26 player coming out of Missouri.

Out of high school, Lee ended up going the junior college route by committing to Iowa Western Community College to play cornerback. After spending two seasons with Iowa Western CC, Lee transferred into the Kansas State program where he blossomed.

Lee was sensational for the Wildcats in all 13 games this past season. He finished with 42 tackles, six pass deflections, two interceptions, and one forced fumble. Pro Football Focus had Lee with a grade of 76.6, which ranked No. 79 out of 866 cornerbacks in the country.

Illinois needs a lot of help at cornerback. The departure of Devon Witherspoon hurt greatly, and we weren’t able to recover from it. Lee would come into the Illinois program and not only start from day one, but he would be the best player on the Illini defense. On Monday, Illinois came in with an offer to Lee. This would be a huge recruitment to win.

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