What’s next for Illinois under Lovie Smith? Amid a four-win season that included a 63–0 blowout loss to Iowa on Senior Day in late November, there was your regularly programmed hot seat chatter. In his three years in Champaign, Smith has yet to totally rebuild the program, entering year four with a 9–27 overall record, 4–23 in the Big Ten. If there was more room for pessimism, 15 players entered the transfer portal this offseason, according to 247Sports’s tracker. Not great.
But may we introduce a potential positive storyline? Despite the steadily dismal outlook, Smith and his staff have added a handful of talent heading into this 2019 season, using the transfer portal in their favor arguably as well as anybody.