Illinois Football: Best transfer portal targets for the Illini 1.0

5. Ethan Robinson

• Position: Cornerback
• College: Bucknell Bison
• Hometown: Montgomery, New York
• Eligibility Left: 1 Year

There are multiple cornerbacks Illinois is targeting in the transfer portal. We offered Will Lee III on Monday. He would help the program greatly. I also believe someone like Ethan Robinson would go a long way in stabilizing the defense.

Coming out of New Rochelle, New York, Robinson didn’t have recruiting attention. He landed with the Bucknell Bison where he would develop nicely over the next three seasons.

The 6-foot-1, 175-pound cornerback started in 17 games in 2021 and 2022 and was sensational for the Bison. In 2023, he finished with 50 tackles, 10 pass breakups, three tackles for loss, and three interceptions.

I believe adding a player like Robinson would help with depth and quality talent. Illinois wasn’t very good when it came to the secondary in 2023. On top of that, we lost some talent so far this offseason. Nicario Harper and Clayton Bush are both gone from the safety position. The Illini also just got word on Monday that future senior Taz Nicholson has entered his name into the transfer portal. He was going to be our leading cornerback in 2024.

There are some pieces I like moving forward. I think Zachary Tobe has star written all over him. I am excited to see what players like Saboor Karriem, Demetrius Hill, and Kaleb Patterson, among others, turn into as well.

With that being said, Illinois needs to add multiple players to the secondary for next season. Lee would be a big-time addition and would have a starting job from day one. I think the same could be said for Robinson as well. These are two huge transfer portal targets for the Orange and Blue.