Illinois football offensive line could end up being stronger than ever in 2025

After breaking it down, the Illinois football offensive line could run it back in 2025.

I am going to be honest, when I first put this article together in my head, it was going to be an article about hitting the panic button on the Illini offensive line. But, over the past few days, I broke down what we have leaving and, potentially, coming back, and now things look pretty bright for the hogs up front.

On paper, it looks like Illinois has taken a hit to the offensive line. When you see three offensive linemen in the transfer portal, a natural instinct is to panic.

Don’t worry, though, those three departures don’t hit quite that hard. Zy Crisler is the biggest departure from the offensive line. He started in six games at right guard for the Illini this season. Due to his poor play, Crisler lost his starting job. He was also graded as the worst guard Illinois had on the roster by Pro Football Focus, as he ranked as the No. 624 guard in all of college football.

The two other offensive linemen in the transfer portal are Hunter Whitenack and Kevin Wigenton II. These two guards had a total of 74 snaps during the 2024 season. While sad, losing these two players isn’t a big hit to the roster.

As of right now, there are only five offensive line departures since the regular season ended. The fifth that I haven’t mentioned is by far the biggest.

JC Davis, the All-Big Ten third-team left tackle, aged out. He is now done with college football, or is he?

According to Eli Lederman of ESPN, about a week ago, a waiver was approved by the NCAA that grants an additional year of eligibility to former junior college players. Whoever took the JUCO route is now eligible for one more year at the FBS level.

Davis started his college career at Contra Costa College, which is at the JUCO level. That means he can come back despite aging out of the college ranks. Bret Bielema heard this news and pounced.

In the media availability on Friday, Carson Gourdie of Fox Illinois and WICS ABC 20 posted a video of Bielema talking about Davis and the potential of him returning to Illinois.

Illinois football still has work to do in the transfer portal, but we could get our starting offensive line back in 2025

The news of Davis getting another year of eligibility, and Bielema re-recruiting him, is exciting. That opens up the potential for Illinois to have a great offensive line in 2025.

Hypothetically speaking, if Davis does come back, Illinois returns the starting front five from the offensive line next season. Melvin Priestly and Davis both started all 12 games for the Illini at the tackle positions.

Josh Gesky was Illinois’ rock at left guard, as he started every game for Illinois this season. Crisler, who is now departing, started six games, but he lost his starting job to Brandon Henderson, who started six games. Henderson is back in the fold as well.

And then you have Josh Kreutz. He has been Illinois’ starting center for two seasons now, and he started all 12 games in 2024.

So, if Davis comes back, Illinois is good up front. Regardless of whether he returns or not, we still have some work to do in the transfer portal. The Illini needs more depth on the offensive line.

In the new year, Illinois is getting an official visit from Purdue offensive lineman DJ Wingfield. He was a great guard for the Boilermakers who played 674 snaps in 2024. Wingfield played two seasons at New Mexico with Davis before transferring to Purdue. So, maybe, there is a package deal where Illinois lands both talented offensive linemen for 2025.

Illinois still has some work to do in the transfer portal, but the offensive front lines are looking pretty good for next season. Let’s see if a few dominoes fall in our direction, and this could be one special offensive unit.