Illinois Football: Transfer portal defensive lineman takes Illini official visit

Illinois football is still looking to add more depth to the defensive line.

The Illini have already done a great job filling the voids left by Jer’Zhan Newton and company. Clay Patterson was the first transfer portal addition for the Orange and Blue. The Yale senior found a new home in Champaign after having 50.0 tackles, 10.0 tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks this past season.

Enyce Sledge also joined the party just days ago. He has three years of eligibility left after spending two seasons with Auburn. This past season, Sledge only saw action in two games for the Tigers. The former top 1000 recruit is looking for a fresh start, though.

Illinois isn’t done with just adding those two talented players to the defensive line. Bret Bielema wants to pull in another solid depth piece, and that option might come in the form of Anthony Johnson.

Johnson is a 6-foot-3, 295-pound defensive lineman who originally committed to Bowling Green back in 2020. He redshirted that year and then transferred out to Youngstown State in 2021. He played three seasons with the Penguins. This past season, Johnson finished with 25.0 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and 4.0 sacks.

Numerous programs are vying for Johnson’s services. On3.com has Pittsburgh and Michigan State as the leaders to land him, but Illinois seems to be squarely in the mix. We offered him a scholarship on December 5, and this past weekend, Johnson made a trip to Champaign for an official visit.

Illinois football is trying to load up in the trenches via the transfer portal

Already landing two defensive linemen from the transfer portal is big for the Illini. We need to replace our entire starting front three of Jer’Zhan Newton, Keith Randolph Jr., and Denzel Daxon.

Sed McConnell was going to be an option in 2024, but he has entered his name into the transfer portal. Bryce Barnes had the most snaps among the backup defensive linemen. TeRah Edwards is also a decent option among the players already on the roster.

But there was a huge need for the Illini to bolster the defensive line. We couldn’t go into the 2024 campaign with the status quo. If we can land Johnson, it would be huge. He would give Bielema more options for the starting defensive line. The more talent we have on the front lines, the better the program will be moving forward.