Illinois loses WR to NCAA transfer portal
An Illinois wide receiver has decided to enter the transfer portal a month after the end of the regular season.
Wednesday evening, Joey Wagner of 247Sports reported that receiver Deuce Spann has entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal. He spent 2 seasons with the program and made some big plays for the Fighting Illini during the 2021 season.
Though he only caught 5 passes, Spann totaled 124 yards and scored 2 touchdowns. The redshirt freshman had catches in each of the first 4 games of the year, including gains of 45, 31 and 33 yards. He also had an 8-yard and 7-yard catch.
Spann played in 9 games for the Fighting Illini during a 5-7 campaign. In 2020, he played in just 1 game and took 1 handoff for 1 yard.
The loss of Spann is a blow to Illinois’ wide receiver room, which has lacked depth and talent at the position. Though he faded out of having a more significant role after the first few games of the season, he flashed plenty of potential in games against Nebraska, UTSA and Nebraska.
Spann will still have 3 years of eligibility to use at his next destination.