Illinois fans will be able to sleep a little easier moving forward, armed with the knowledge that they won’t be dumped by a wide receiver transfer for the fourth time this offseason.
In late-April, Trevon Sidney announced that he would be transferring from USC to Illinois. A little over three months later, Sidney is officially enrolled in classes at the university, a program official confirmed, and has been added to the Fighting Illini’s official online roster.
As a graduate transfer, Sidney will be eligible to play immediately for the Illini this coming season. The receiver will also have a year of eligibility that he could use in 2020 as well.
A four-star member of USC’s 2016 recruiting class, Sidney was rated as the No. 26 receiver in the country and the No. 21 player at any position in the state of California. After redshirting as a true freshman, and after undergoing surgery on both hips in the offseason prior to his redshirt freshman campaign, Sidney caught 10 passes for 139 yards in 18 appearances the past two seasons.
In late December, Illinois announced that transfer wide receiver Jeff Thomas had signed a financial aid agreement and would enroll at the university for the spring 2019 semester; a month later, Thomas reversed course and returned to Miami. In early January, transfer wide receiver A.D. Miller signed a Big Ten Tender of Financial Aid and planned to enroll at the University of Illinois in the spring; two months later, Miller reneged on that commitment and returned to Oklahoma. In mid-March, transfer wide receiver Dejon Brissett announced on social media that he would be moving from FCS Richmond to Illinois; a month later, Miller announced on social media that he would instead be transferring to Virginia to continue his collegiate playing career.