Top 5 Illinois football transfer portal targets for the 2025 season
The transfer portal continues to churn, and the Illinois football team is in the middle of some big recruitments.
Bret Bielema has not only kept the Illini competitive on the football field, but he has adapted to the transfer portal well. He has a team that targets certain positions of need, and we go out there and snag talented players.
The transfer portal has been good to Illinois the last few years. Tommy DeVito and Luke Altmyer are two prime examples of the transfer portal paying off. There are some big transfer portal options during this cycle that could help Illinois win some games in 2025 as well.
Here are the top five Illinois football transfer portal targets for the 2025 season
1. Miles McVay – Offensive Tackle
Illinois needs to protect Luke Altmyer in 2025. That should be priority No. 1 for Bret Bielema and the coaching staff. Without having Altmyer upright, Illinois has zero chance of being successful.
That is why my top transfer portal recruiting target is offensive tackle Miles McVay. He is a big-time player who can help solidify the Illinois offensive line.
Coming out of East St. Louis High School in Illinois, McVay was a four-star recruit who was ranked as the No. 196 player in the class of 2023. He was also the No. 16 offensive tackle in the country and the No. 3 player coming out of the state of Illinois.
McVay was wooed by many programs, but Alabama ended up winning out. He spent two seasons with the Crimson Tide. This past season, he saw just 94 snaps for the program.
After two seasons, McVay decided to hit the transfer portal. Since he entered the portal, he has seen a ton of recruiting attention. Illinois came quickly calling, and McVay is already up in Champaign for an official visit. He is currently taking that visit this weekend.
Illinois needs McVay. We are losing JC Davis to the NFL and other key pieces like Zy Crisler, Hunter Whitenack, and Kevin Wigenton II. McVay could come in and start from day one. Illinois has been able to develop offensive line talent as well. This would be a great pairing.