Auburn defensive lineman Gimel President is heading north. President will join the Illinois football program by way of a graduate transfer this year.
President spent the last three years with Auburn but he will be eligible for his final season of college football right away. NCAA rules allow graduate transfers to be eligible to play right away if they transfer to another FBS program. He will get a chance to step right in to provide Illinois with some needed depth on defense. As it just so happens, Auburn turned out to be the destination for former Illinois linebacker T.J. Neal as he weighed his transfer options just last week. So maybe we can consider President the player to be named later in this trade between Big Ten and SEC programs.
The news of the transfer, which was reported by The Post and Courier in South Carolina, was relayed by President’s high school football coach, Jimmy Noonan.
“I just think he felt comfortable with that relationship,” Noonan said. “Gimel got his release about two weeks ago, and he didn’t want to drag this out.”
Illinois was not the only option on the table for President. ACC schools Georgia Tech, North Carolina State and Virginia Tech were among those making contact with President. A handful of other FCS schools from the southeast also made contact, but in the end President opted to take his chances in the Big Ten with Illinois.