NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
Jun. 20—CHAMPAIGN — The Illinois football staff mined the transfer portal with intent this offseason. Real positions of need to address.
Like offensive and defensive line. The former was a position Illini coach Bret Bielema said he would never be caught short on again. The latter will have all three of last year’s starters, led by second-round pick Johnny Newton, in NFL training camps next month.
So it wasn’t a surprise when Bielema and Co. used the first portal window to address both position groups. Landing offensive line transfers J.C. Davis (New Mexico), Melvin Priestly (Grambling) and Kevin Wigenton II (Michigan State) might yield three starters. Dennis Briggs Jr. (Florida State), Enyce Sledge (Auburn) and Gentle Hunt (Florida A&M) helped shore up the defensive front.
Plug and play. That’s Illinois’ portal preference.
“What we’ve treated the portal world window is trying to address needs we have immediately on our football team,” Bielema said. “Guys that we felt we needed an immediate impact in the room depth-wise has been a huge emphasis.”
Illinois used the second portal window to similarly address the top remaining question mark on its roster.
Xavier Scott’s 11 starts last season are more than the rest of Illinois’ cornerbacks combined. A situation created in part by Taz Nicholson transferring to Louisville (after a brief commitment to Mississippi). Losing Zachary Tobe to Georgia Tech after he made three starts in 10 games as a true freshman in 2023 didn’t help, either.
Defensive coordinator Aaron Henry has been pleased with the progress his young cornerbacks made during the spring and through the first half of summer workouts. But adding experience at the position was a necessity.
Terrance Brooks (Texas) and Torrie Cox Jr. (Ohio), both the sons of former NFL defensive backs, solved that problem.
“When you add…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/transfer-cornerbacks-much-needed-experience-144800532.html
Author : The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
Publish date : 2024-06-20 14:48:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
