Illinois DL Dylan Davis enters the NCAA Transfer Portal

Illinois defensive lineman Dylan Davis has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, per On3’s Pete Nakos. Davis spent two seasons with the Fighting Illini.

In the 2023 campaign, Davis saw action in three games, primarily serving on special teams. In his debut campaign at Illinois, Davis played in two games before deciding to redshirt.

Before coming to Illinois, Davis spent two seasons at Furman, where he was named an FCS All-American by Phil Steele. At Furman, Davis played offensive line, but he ultimately transitioned to the defensive line last offseason.

Dylan Davis played high school football at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School (FL), where he was an unranked prospect in the 2020 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Davis is the eighth player from Illinois to enter the transfer portal this offseason. However, the team has also added seven players in the portal, earning the No. 39 spot in On3’s Transfer Portal Team Rankings. Illinois future is secured in more ways than one.

Illinois safe in the Big Ten Conference

New Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen didn’t mince words when describing the power the Big Ten and SEC will have in college football. It’s not exactly a secret that the two leagues are poised to be the top dogs for the foreseeable future following the latest wave of conference realignment. 

The SEC added historic programs Oklahoma and Texas, while the Big Ten brought in four new schools from the Pac-12, including defending runner up Washington. Dannen, who was hired last week, spoke on the disparity between the two conferences and the rest of the country at his introductory press conference Tuesday. 

“I think the world is going to revolve around the Big Ten and the SEC,” he said. “I think we saw that with the CFP revenue distribution model that came out.”

Dannen is referring to a recent agreement on a six-year between the College Football Playoff and the 10 conferences that make up the FBS (plus Notre Dame). The deal is reportedly worth $7.8 billion as a whole, but the SEC and Big Ten are both slated to make around $8 million more per year than any other conference. 

Furthermore, leaders in both conferences have lobbied for the Big Ten and SEC to receive automatic byes for the first round in talks of an expanded 14-team Playoff. It has also been suggested that the leagues would have two automatic bids compared to one for the other conferences.