We are still pretty early in the transfer portal process, but the Illinois football team took another hit on Wednesday afternoon.
The transfer portal hasn’t been too bad for the Illini thus far. Going into Wednesday, we had lost a total of five players to the chaos that is the portal, and none of those were massive departures.
All of the players who have decided to find greener pastures have been okay depth pieces. That continued on Wednesday, as Chris Hummer of 247Sports reported that Vernon Woodward III has entered his name into the transfer portal.
Illinois freshman CB Vernon Woodward III (@_vern1) plans to enter the portal, his rep @mucksportsrep tells @247Sports.
— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) December 17, 2025
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound DB was a top 100 player out of Florida in the 2024 class. Picked the Illini over multiple other P-4 offers.https://t.co/upxvTP8icT pic.twitter.com/3oslHVKK4s
Coming out of Winter Park High School in Florida, Woodward was a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 947 player in the class of 2024. He was also the No. 81 cornerback in the country.
In year one at Illinois, Woodward took a redshirt. He then didn’t see a single snap in 2025. So, in two years in Champaign, Woodward didn’t play a single second. Now, he is trying to find a new home.
Once again, Illinois football shouldn’t be too affected by a transfer portal departure
It would be nice to have depth built from the ground up. But it is also not a big hit when someone who hasn’t taken a snap in two years decides to leave the program. While I wish Woodward nothing but the best, Illinois’ problems in the secondary don’t rest on the shoulders of this transfer portal departure.
Illinois needs to revamp the secondary for 2026. A part of that revamping has already started. Bret Bielema went out and snagged Jakwon Morris, the No. 4 junior college player and the best JUCO cornerback in the country.
On top of that, the Illini have two four-star defensive backs coming into the program. Nick Hankins is the top overall recruit, and he is listed as a cornerback and the No. 124 player in the country. Jacob Eberhart is a safety, and he is the No. 402 player in the nation.
Illinois can’t be done adding to the secondary either. I am excited about the three new big additions, but we need more depth and talent. I would imagine, starting January 2 through January 16, the Illini have their eyes set on some big-time defensive backs to help bolster the roster.