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Illinois loses WR to NCAA transfer portal
Published:
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.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB