Bret Bielema doesn't seem satisfied with his wide receiver room, and honestly, why would he be settled at any point in August? On3's Pete Nakos reported Sunday night that Illinois is trending to land a transfer wide receiver ahead of the season, the latest domino in a portal rebuild that's been running nonstop since the spring.
Illinois is trending to land a transfer WR ahead of the season, @On3 has learned. Details: https://t.co/BHuKHtY6i8
This isn't Illinois dabbling in the portal for fun. The Illini have already added multiple receivers this cycle, including grad transfer Eddie Kasper out of Illinois State, plus Jayshon Platt, Alex Perry and Ty Robinson from FAU, FIU and Ball State respectively. That's a lot of turnover at one position for a program trying to build continuity under Bielema, and it tells you the staff still sees a hole worth filling with the season bearing down.
Part of the urgency traces back to fall camp, where Bielema had to deliver bad news on incoming freshman Davon Grant. The 6-foot-4 three-star out of DeKalb was ruled medically ineligible, with Bielema saying the staff "would never be able to clear the hurdle" on whatever issue Grant is dealing with. That's a body off the roster the Illini were counting on for depth, and it's the kind of thing that sends a staff back to the portal even in August.
Illinois isn't hurting for warm bodies at receiver — Hudson Clement, Collin Dixon and the rest of the transfer additions give Bielema a group that can function without another addition. But this latest pursuit reads more like the staff chasing an upgrade than plugging a hole, which fits how Illinois has operated in the portal all offseason: aggressive, opportunistic, and unwilling to just run it back with what's already on the roster.
If it comes together, it'll be at least the fourth transfer receiver Bielema has landed since the spring window opened, a number that says plenty about how much roster-building in the Big Ten now happens outside the traditional recruiting calendar. Camp battles are still shaking out in Champaign, and apparently so is the depth chart itself.