While it slowed a bit, the transfer tear Illinois football has been on over the past month or so has picked back up. Especially when it comes to Power Fives.
On Twitter this weekend, Chinedu Udeogu announced that he will be transferring out of Cal. And, at the same time, the defensive tackle confirmed that he will be transferring into the Illinois football program.
As a graduate transfer, Udeogu will be eligible to play for the Fighting Lovies in 2020. This’ll be his last season of eligibility.
“I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to be graduating from The University of California Berkeley with a B.S. in Business Administration!” Udeogu wrote. “Along with the opportunity to represent Cal these last four years on the football field. ...
“I’m excited to announce that I’ll be continuing my athletic and academic journey at the University of Illinois receiving a Masters of Science in Economics!”
UC Berkeley Class of 2020 —> The University of Illinois #Illini #B1G 🔶🔷 @LovieSmith @DLineGURU pic.twitter.com/M6Dp2Oh78T
— Chinedu Udeogu (@TheChinedu) May 16, 2020
The Rockville, Maryland, native was a three-star 2016 signee. The lineman took a redshirt as a true freshman.
In 2017 and 2018, Udeogu played in 23 games. He then played in the first two games of 2019 before suffering a season-ending injury.
During his time with the Golden Bears, Udeogu was credited with 20 tackles. A baker’s dozen of those came during the 2018 season.
In two months, Udeogu is the seventh transfer Illinois has added to its football roster. Five of those come from Power Five programs.
In mid-March, ex-Alabama linebacker Christian Bell tweeted that he was moving on to the Illini. Shortly thereafter, we noted that an FCS All-American offensive lineman had opted to transfer into the Illinois football program. New Mexico State wide receiver Desmond Dan did the same. As did Miami wide receiver Brian Hightower. And Mississippi State offensive lineman Brevyn Jones as well in early May And Louisville defensive back TreSean Smith last week as well.