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Jun. 7—CHAMPAIGN — The ramping up of the college football transfer portal mirrored Bret Bielema’s move to Illinois in 2021.
Once the NCAA allowed movement without penalty, it was like a giant spigot opened and players flooded the system.
Early in Bielema’s time at Illinois, the roster losses were minimal.
“Because we hadn’t lost a lot, we really hadn’t been able to gain a lot,” Bielema said Thursday at the Smith Center during a 15-minute media session. “We just didn’t have a lot of players leave.”
That began to change.
“Some of the guys that we recruited who maybe weren’t quite at starter roles — and the 12 guys who left, not one guy was a starter — they were for the majority threes (third string) and below. I kind of understand it. Most of those guys walked out of my office with a big hug and wished them the best of luck.”
There were players in the two-deep that decided to move on.
One was defensive back Taz Nicholson, who is now at Louisville. Defensive back Zachary Tobe, now at Georgia Tech, was another.
“We just lost pure numbers,” Bielema said. “Zach Tobe wasn’t projected to be a starter for us, but we thought he could play valuable snaps. To replace that is just smart.”
The Illini also lost midyear transfer defensive lineman Anthony Johnson, who is now at Pitt.
Terrance Brooks joined the team after being a starter at Texas. The defensive back is expected to get on the field immediately.
Brooks visited the Illinois campus with his dad Chet, a former NFL player.
“They both were like, ‘Man, this is just different,'” Bielema said. “One of the things we’ve always said is if we can just get someone on our campus and they can see us and feel us with an open mind, we can beat anybody.”
Brooks isn’t the only portal highlight for Illinois on defense. The defensive line got a boost from an ex-Florida State player.
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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/bob-asmussen-bielema-making-good-144800503.html
Author : The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
Publish date : 2024-06-07 14:48:00
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