Illinois DL Anthony Johnson enters the NCAA Transfer Portal

Illinois defensive lineman Anthony Johnson has entered his name into the transfer portal.

Johnson transferred to Champaign from Youngstown State in the first portal cycle. However, per Bret Bielema this weekend, he will be leaving the program in search of another opportunity elsewhere.

“Anthony Johnson actually came in yesterday and he’s moving on so we’re out of the mix with him,” said Bielema on Saturday.

“I could see it the last couple of weeks. There were guys playing, right, that I don’t know if he saw himself getting that starting role,” Bielema said. “I get it. The guy has got one year left. Asked him to kind of thing about it but totally understand where he’s coming from. So he quit, moved on.”

Johnson is heading into his fifth collegiate season after a redshirt year at Bowling Green and the past three at Youngstown State.

In three years with the Penguins, Johnson posted 36 tackles and five sacks. That included this past fall as a senior where he had career numbers with 22 tackles and four sacks. Those sacks were good for a three-way tie while the tackles were tied for Top-10 on the team.

Johnson, a native of Pittsburgh, played high school football at Jeannette where he was a member of the 2020 class.

Johnson was one of nine players to leave Youngstown State in the portal. He then joined the Fighting Illini as one of seven transfer additions, including one of three defensive linemen, for their program. They come together to make up the No. 36 class according to On3’s 2024 College Football Team Transfer Portal Rankings.

Johnson was the No. 26 DL in the portal and the No. 340 overall transfer according to On3’s 2024 College Football Transfer Portal Top Players.

Now, following the news this weekend, Johnson will taking his services to another school in hopes of more opportunity elsewhere.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

Arizona transfer guard Kylan Boswell commits to Illinois

Arizona transfer point guard Kylan Boswell has committed to Illinois.

Boswell joins Brad Underwood’s program after spending two seasons with the Wildcats.

A four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, Boswell was a Top-50 player coming out of Compass Prep in Champaign, Ill. He chose to play for Arizona over an initial offer from Illinois, as well as offers from Kansas, USC, and others.

During his two seasons at Arizona, Boswell played over 30 games each season. HE was a starter for the Wildcats this past year with starts in 35 of 36 games. He averaged 9.6 points per game on 39.6% shooting from the floor while dishing out 3.6 assists per game and 2.3 rebounds per game.

Boswell entered his name into the transfer portal on April 9. On3’s Jamie Shaw reported shortly after that Illinois was a team to keep an eye on the second time around.