Illinois football has a top Big Ten transfer portal addition this spring

Illinois football has done a great job adding players this offseason, and now the program is getting some recognition.

The Illini have had our fair share of transfer portal departures since the 2023 season ended. In addition to the transfer portal taking a toll on us, we also lost a ton of talent to the NFL.

Bret Bielema went into action and has added some key pieces this offseason. I am curious to see what the Illini defensive line looks like. While we lost our entire starting defensive line from the 2023 campaign, Illinois has brought in a handful of players to replace that talent.

Illinois has also done a great job stacking talent in the secondary. This past Tuesday, the Illini landed Ohio transfer cornerback, Torrie Cox Jr. He is a talented cornerback who will be a great depth piece for the program. Cox joins another transfer portal addition, Terrance Brooks.

Brooks joined the program back on May 12, and he wasn’t just a regular solid transfer portal get for the Orange and Blue. Brooks was a former four-star recruit who is coming in from Texas. This kid brings a ton of talent with him, and the addition of this talented cornerback is one of the best in the Big Ten this spring.

On3.com laid out the top transfer portal commits in the Big Ten this spring. The No. 1 addition is defensive lineman Derrick Harmon going from Michigan State to Oregon. Yes, that is a transfer portal addition, as Oregon is now in the Big Ten. Get used to it.

No. 4 on the list of the top transfer portal additions this spring is Illinois landing Brooks from Texas. Brooks was a four-star transfer portal player according to their industry rankings.

Bret Bielema has Illinois football recruiting the transfer portal at a high level

I would say that Brooks is probably at the top of the class when it comes to Illinois’ transfer portal additions for the 2024 season. He is someone who is going to start from day one, and I believe the Illini secondary will be pretty decent now that he is in the fold.

Bielema is doing a great job rounding out the 2024 squad too. I already touched on the talent coming in to replace the departing defensive line. I love the fact Bielema added some key offensive linemen too.

Offensive lineman JC Davis has a chance to be an All-Big Ten player this season. He is right there at the top with Brooks as the best offseason addition. Illinois also added depth pieces to the offensive line in case of injury.

The addition of Cox, alongside Brooks, in the secondary is huge too. Illinois needed more talent in the defensive backfield, and Bielema has come up big this offseason.