Transfer portal · 2026
Illinois Fighting Illini
Both windowsProjected two-deep impacti
+21
Projected two-deep roles added · 2026 arrivals
Illinois added 21 transfers projected into the two-deep (12 as starters) against 27 departures whose next roles aren’t tracked here. Every number on this page is counted, not modelled — no composite portal grade is published because no defensible one exists yet.
26
Arrivals
-1
27
Departures
0.86
Avg rating in
-0.01
0.86
Avg rating out
21
Proj two-deep in
—
—
Out roles untracked
10 of 26
’25 production in
—
19 of 27
’25 production out
How the roster changed
53 moves · 11 rooms touchediOffense0 net players
Upgraded+3 players
OL
+5 in · −2 out · 3 proj starters in
InOut
N
M
C
?
Jake Renfro in from Wisconsin drives the room.
No movement—
RB
+0 in · −0 out
InOutNo arrivalsNo departures
No portal movement in this room.
Upgraded-1 player
WR
+4 in · −5 out · 2 proj starters in
InOut
?
Alex Perry in from Florida International drives the room.
Upgraded-1 player
QB
+1 in · −2 out · 1 proj starter in
InOut
Katin Houser in from East Carolina drives the room.
Depth concern-1 player
TE
+1 in · −2 out
InOut
Cole Rusk out to Arizona drives the room.
Defense-2 net players
Upgraded+2 players
EDGE
+3 in · −1 out · 1 proj starter in
InOut
H
Will Holmes in from Utah State drives the room.
Upgraded—
LB
+3 in · −3 out · 1 proj starter in
InOut
I
?
Robert Edmonson in from Colorado State drives the room.
Upgraded-1 player
CB
+3 in · −4 out · 1 proj starter in
InOut
N
Deuce Fillmore in from Georgia State drives the room.
Replaced-1 player
S
+1 in · −2 out
InOut
?
Saboor Karriem out to Temple drives the room.
Depth concern-2 players
DL
+3 in · −5 out · 2 proj starters in
InOut
Darrell Prater in from Jacksonville State drives the room.
Specialists+1 net players
Replaced+1 player
LS
+1 in · −0 out
InOut
No departures
Zach Haber in from Arkansas drives the room.
Upgraded—
K
+1 in · −1 out · 1 proj starter in
InOut
David Olano out to Texas A&M drives the room.
No movement—
P
+0 in · −0 out
InOutNo arrivalsNo departures
No portal movement in this room.
ArrivalDepartureHeavy ring · proj starter inThin ring · rotation inDotted · depth role or no ’25 recordMarker size = ’25 production percentile (smallest = none recorded)
Did Illinois replace what it lost?
Role slots, not player-for-playerReplaced7 chains
QB
Starting slot
Out · to Southern Miss
Ethan Hampton
no ’25 production record
Replaced
High confidence
In · from East Carolina
Katin Houser
rating 0.88 · 92nd pctl ’25 production · 269/408 · 3,300 pass yds · 19 TD · 6 INT · 193 rush yds · qb1 starter
Jan 5
▾ Detail
WR
Starting slot
Out · to Oklahoma State
Justin Bowick
rating 0.90 · 65th pctl ’25 production · 22 rec · 265 yds · 5 TD
Upgrade
High confidence
In · from Florida Atlantic
Jayshon Platt
rating 0.86 · 92nd pctl ’25 production · 46 rec · 720 yds · 5 TD · z1 starter
Jan 6
▾ Detail
WR
Starting slot
Out · to Georgia Southern
Ashton Hollins
rating 0.82 · 47th pctl ’25 production · 4 rec · 108 yds · 1 TD
Upgrade
Medium confidence
In · from Illinois State
Eddie Kasper
rating 0.85 · pr1 starter
Mar 5
▾ Detail
OL
Starting slot
Out · to Eastern Michigan
Tyler McMillan
rating 0.84
Upgrade
Low confidence
In · from Wisconsin
Jake Renfro
rating 0.86 · c1 starter
Jan 5
▾ Detail
EDGE
Starting slot
Out · to South Florida
Harrysson Ngassa
no ’25 production record
Replaced
Medium confidence
In · from Utah State
Will Holmes
rating 0.86 · 91st pctl ’25 production · 45 tkl · 6.5 TFL · 2 sk · jack1 starter
Jan 8
▾ Detail
DL
Starting slot
Out · to Texas A&M
Angelo McCullom
rating 0.88 · 66th pctl ’25 production · 19 tkl · 3 TFL · 1.5 sk
Replaced
High confidence
In · from Jacksonville State
Darrell Prater
rating 0.86 · 76th pctl ’25 production · 21 tkl · 4 TFL · 3.5 sk · nt1 starter
Jan 21
▾ Detail
CB
Starting slot
Out · to Kansas State
Kaleb Patterson
rating 0.87 · 54th pctl ’25 production · 16 tkl · 1 PD
Replaced
Medium confidence
In · from Northwest Mississippi CC
N
Jakwon Morris
no ’25 production record · lcb1 starter
—
▾ Detail
Partially replaced8 chains
WR
Rotation slot
Out · to LSU
Malik Elzy
rating 0.86 · 42nd pctl ’25 production · 7 rec · 84 yds
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from Florida International
Alex Perry
rating 0.86 · 95th pctl ’25 production · 56 rec · 840 yds · 9 TD · x2 rotation
Jan 8
▾ Detail
WR
Rotation slot
Out · to Southern Miss
Mario Sanders II
rating 0.84 · 26th pctl ’25 production · 2 rec · 32 yds
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from Ball State
Ty Robinson
rating 0.85 · 48th pctl ’25 production · 11 rec · 113 yds · z2 rotation
Jan 7
▾ Detail
DL
Starting slot
Out · to South Carolina
Tomiwa Durojaiye
rating 0.93 · 66th pctl ’25 production · 16 tkl · 4.5 TFL · 2 sk
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from Pennsylvania
Carter Janki
rating 0.83 · dt1 starter
Jan 4
▾ Detail
LB
Starting slot
Out · to West Virginia
Malachi Hood
rating 0.85 · 71st pctl ’25 production · 44 tkl · 1.5 TFL · 1 sk
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from Emory & Henry
Ean Rhea
rating 0.84 · lb1 starter
May 24
▾ Detail
LB
Rotation slot
Out · to Purdue
Jojo Hayden
rating 0.87 · 55th pctl ’25 production · 25 tkl · 1.5 TFL
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from Colorado State
Robert Edmonson
rating 0.87 · 74th pctl ’25 production · 47 tkl · 4 TFL · 1 sk · mlb2 rotation
Jan 10
▾ Detail
CB
Rotation slot
Out · to Florida Atlantic
Amar Reynolds
0th pctl ’25 production · 1 tkl
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from Georgia State
Deuce Fillmore
rating 0.84 · 77th pctl ’25 production · 39 tkl · 3 PD · nb2 rotation
Jan 10
▾ Detail
S
Rotation slot
Out · to Temple
Saboor Karriem
60th pctl ’25 production · 21 tkl · 1 TFL
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from East Texas A&M
Lavon Williams
rating 0.86 · fs2 rotation
Jan 4
▾ Detail
K
Starting slot
Out · to Texas A&M
David Olano
88th pctl ’25 production · 20/23 FG · 104 pts
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from Washington
Ethan Moczulski
rating 0.83 · ko1 starter
Jan 15
▾ Detail
Not replaced4 chains
WR
Production lost
Out · to unannounced
?
Alexander Capka-Jones
25th pctl ’25 production · 2 rec · 31 yds
Unresolved
Room restocked · slot open
In
No further two-deep addition
4 two-deep arrivals answer other losses
Jan 15
▾ Detail
TE
Production lost
Out · to Arizona
Cole Rusk
rating 0.91 · 79th pctl ’25 production · 19 rec · 217 yds · 1 TD
Unresolved
Room restocked · slot open
In
No starter/rotation addition
1 depth arrival in room
Jan 6
▾ Detail
DL
Production lost
Out · to Purdue
Curt Neal
rating 0.86 · 50th pctl ’25 production · 16 tkl · 0.5 TFL · 2 PD
Unresolved
Room restocked · slot open
In
No further two-deep addition
2 two-deep arrivals answer other losses · 1 depth arrival in room · 3 producing losses unanswered
Jan 7
▾ Detail
S
Production lost
Out · to unannounced
?
Tyson Rooks
36th pctl ’25 production · 5 tkl · 1 PD
Unresolved
Room restocked · slot open
In
No further two-deep addition
1 two-deep arrival answers other losses
Jan 2
▾ Detail
Quality vs experience
Portal rating
0.750.800.850.900.951.00
No ’25 production record
High-upside betProven impactDevelopmentalExperienced depth?
0th pctl25th pctl50th pctl75th pctl
’25 production · national position percentile
17 unrated moves not plotted — see the ledger
How much Illinois depends on transfers
Projected 2026 two-deep · 55 slotsQuarterback50%
1
1
Skill (RB/WR/TE)50%
5
2
3
Offensive line50%
5
1
4
Front seven (EDGE/DL/LB)50%
7
7
Secondary (CB/S)30%
7
3
Specialists67%
3
2
4
Returning signeesPrior-cycle transfers2026 transfers
49%
Projected two-deep from transfers
27 of 55 two-deep slots
17 of 28
Projected starters from transfers
13 from the 2026 cycle, 4 held over
71st
Big Ten percentile · transfer share
6th-most transfer-dependent two-deep of 18 Big Ten teams
Returning portal corePrior-cycle transfers still in the two-deep
Hudson Clement
WR · from West Virginia · 2025 cycle · SL1 starter
78th pctl
’25 production · Illinois
Christian Abney
TE · from Ball State · 2025 cycle · TE1 starter
18th pctl
’25 production · Illinois
Nathan Knapik
OL · from Idaho · 2025 cycle · RT1 starter
—
no ’25 record
Lucas Osada
K · from North Carolina · 2025 cycle · KO2 rotation
—
no ’25 record
Lars Rau
P · from Texas State · 2025 cycle · PT1 starter
—
no ’25 record
Where Illinois’s transfers came from — and where they went
Sources · 26 arrivals27 departures · destinations
Arrived from · 26
Non-FBS
11 players
Pac-12
4 players
Big Ten
2 players
American Athletic
2 players
Mid-American
2 players
Conference USA
2 players
+
Other
3 players
Departed to · 27
+
Unannounced
4 players
SEC
4 players
Big 12
4 players
Mid-American
4 players
American Athletic
3 players
Big Ten
3 players
+
Other
5 players
11arrivals came from Non-FBS programs — the single largest source.
21arrivals are projected straight into the two-deep (3 of 26 arrivals came from P4 leagues).
3departures stayed inside the Big Ten.
How the window developed
Cumulative net moves · in − out6 undated moves not plotted
All portal moves
53 of 53 moves match · 25 shownShow
Role in
Sort
PlayerPosDirectionOrigin / destinationRating’25 productionEligProjected roleDate
JF
Winter window · 4★
KH
Winter window · 3★
RE
Winter window · 3★
LW
Winter window · 3★
JR
Winter window · 3★
JP
Winter window · 3★
AP
Winter window · 3★
WH
Winter window · 3★
IT
Winter window · 3★
DP
Winter window · 3★
CM
Winter window · 3★
TR
Winter window · 3★
EK
Winter window · 3★
