Illinois loses former 3-star linebacker to the transfer portal

Sometimes the transfer portal can be good, and in this case, for the Illinois football team, sometimes it is bad.

The Illini haven’t had too bad an experience since the transfer portal really started to become a thing about five years ago. We have had some great quarterbacks come into the program, and the departures haven’t been too brutal.

Illinois did get some unfortunate news on Tuesday. Brandon Huffman of 247Sports reported that Illinois linebacker Easton Baker has decided to hit the transfer portal.

Coming out of Stansbury High School in Utah, Baker was a three-star recruit and the No. 1362 player in the class of 2024. He was also the No. 116 linebacker in the country and the No. 17 player coming out of Utah.

I thought Baker was going to be a special talent, considering he had offers from teams like Oklahoma, Arizona State, and Arkansas, in addition to his Illinois offer.

Baker’s stint at Illinois lasted two seasons. He didn’t play a single snap on defense, and wherever he ends up, he will have three years to play.

Illinois football still has some good options at linebacker entering 2026

While it is never fun to lose a player, and I think Baker can be a good linebacker, Illinois should be okay at the position.

We are losing Dylan Rosiek, which is a huge loss. He is the heart and soul of that Illini linebacker corps. Losing Kenenna Odeluga will hurt too. But there are some talented players who will take the reins at linebacker.

I love what James Kreutz did this season. I think Jojo Hayden is ready to make the leap to starter. Don’t sleep on Grant Beerman either. He was a huge flip from Purdue to Illinois last season. He has a chance to be a special talent.

Bret Bielema is also going to be eyeing the transfer portal for additions. Linebacker should be a priority for the Illini this offseason. Let’s see what Bielema can do in the transfer portal battles.