The transfer portal has now taken a few Illinois football players over the past week, and the latest is an offensive lineman.
I think the biggest issue for the Illini right now is the depth at the offensive line. I love our starters, but if one goes down with an injury, the talent gap between first and second string is massive.
On Thursday, that gap got even wider. Zach Aamland took to social media to announce that he was entering the transfer portal.
I'm entering the transfer portal with 3 years of eligibility remaining. 6'6 305lb G/T @Red_Zone75 pic.twitter.com/1JVJWLUNHr
— Zachary Aamland (@ZacharyAamland) April 17, 2025
Coming out of Hun School in New Jersey, Aamland was a three-star recruit who was the No. 1340 player in the class of 2023. He was also the No. 105 offensive tackle in the country and the No. 24 player coming out of New Jersey.
Aamland had some decent recruiting attention, and Illinois was able to beat out teams like Duke and Boston College, to name a few, to secure his commitment.
In the two years at Illinois, Aamland didn’t see snaps. He redshirted in 2023, and he didn’t play last season. Now the offensive lineman is looking for a new home.
Keep an eye on who emerges on the second-string offensive line for the Illinois football program
Aamland has been with the Illinois program for a couple of years, so the hope was that he would emerge as a solid backup option on the offensive line. That is clearly not the case, though.
I am curious who will be Illinois’ second-string offensive lineman. I am keeping an eye on someone like Eddie Tuerk. The kid was recruited as a defensive lineman, but he has flipped to the offensive line. That flip wouldn’t have happened unless the coaching staff saw something in him.
I think Brandon Hansen, Zafir Stewart, Dezmond Schuster, and Kellen Francis are all names to keep an eye on as well. They have been in the program for a minute or were good gets in the offseason. Illinois does have options when it comes to the second-string offensive line.