Rising transfer portal talent has Illinois football in visit plans

It hasn't even been a week since the transfer portal officially opened, and the Illinois football program has been active.

Like many other teams, the transfer portal started a little shaky. You are always going to have more transfers out than in, within the first week. So far, the Illini have had 22 outgoing transfers, but we have combated that with nine incoming players.

You also have to think about the departing players who aged out. One of the key players Illinois is going to have to replace is future NFL Draft pick Gabe Jacas. His presence as an outside linebacker for the Illini was huge the last few seasons, and now the hope is to find someone who can at least make up for some of those numbers.

Illinois might land that player in the form of Jordan Mcallister. It was announced by Max Olson of ESPN that Mcallister is lining up his official visits. He took his first visit to Missouri on Tuesday. He will then make a trip to Wisconsin. Illinois and Tulane will both get visits as well.

Mcallister is a 6-foot-3, 231-pound EDGE, which translates to outside linebacker on the Illinois roster. He suited up for New Hampshire the past three seasons.

In 2023, Mcallister took a redshirt. In 2024, he amassed 16 tackles, three tackles for loss, and one sack. As a sophomore, Mcallister had his best season yet, finishing the 2025 campaign with 34 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles.

Illinois football needs to add Jordan Mcallister from the transfer portal, as the outside linebacker position has been decimated

It has not been a great offseason for the Illinois outside linebacker position. Jacas was the big loss, but he was expected because he aged out. There have been other depth-crushing departures, too.

Leon Lowery Jr. and Alec Bryant both graduated. Illinois also had Clayton Leonard hit the transfer portal. So, with Jacas, Lowery, and Bryant gone, that means three out of the top four players in snap count have all departed.

Joe Barna is the only one left standing, and he played the third-most snaps for the Illinois outside linebackers last season. The Illini also have Daniel Brown back for one more season, and he logged 212 snaps, which isn’t bad.

Behind Barna and Brown, there is a bunch of unknowns. Ismael Kante and Mason Muragin both took some snaps last season, but they didn’t get a ton of time on the field. Illinois then has Parker Crim, Jaylen Stewart, Jacob Alexander, Kayden Bennett, and Kingston Shaw joining the team from the class of 2026.

Illinois’ outside linebacker situation isn’t ideal right now. There are nice pieces to build around, but we need another piece or two to help solidify the outside. Mcallister could be that piece.