Graduate Transfer WR Desmond Dan Commits To Illinois

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois football is bringing in another immediately eligible wide receiver in their evolving offense.

Following the success of leading yardage receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe last season, Illinois is using the graduate transfer route for another passing target. New Mexico State wide receiver Desmond Dan announced his verbal commitment to the Illini football program Thursday evening.

Dan, who is listed on the New Mexico State roster by his middle name of Drew Dan but has told Illini Now/Sports Illustrated he “would prefer to go by my first name Desmond at Illinois”, had 53 catches for 631 yards and three touchdowns (all of which came in the 2018 season) in his four-year career at New Mexico State.

Dan, a 6-foot-3 and 190-pound receiver, is expecting to have two years of eligibility remaining and his arrival adds to an already impressive depth chart of returning pass-catching targets for the 2020 season that includes Imatorbhebhe, Donny Navarro and Casey Washington along with Ricky Smalling and Trevon Sidney, who both suffered season-ending injuries last season.

In an interview with Illini Maven/Sports Illustrated, Dan said Thursday night he initially reached out to Illinois tight end coach Corey Patterson to see if the Illini were interested in bringing in another graduate transfer receiver. Patterson immediately sent Dan’s highlight tape to Illini offensive coordinator Rod Smith and Smith immediately contacted Dan via video conferencing to express interest. Dan confirmed his verbal commitment to Illini head coach Lovie Smith over the phone earlier Thursday afternoon.

“(Rod Smith) told me that he loved my tape and was really interested in the multiple ways I can help the offense and that includes blocking downfield for a running game that is very important to them,” Dan said. “I think instantly they believed I’m not a selfish person and I wanted to come to a situation where I had to compete to earn playing time and I wanted to prove I can help a program in a big conference like Illinois.”

Illinois has had recent success in the transfer market and specifically at receiver as the top two receivers for the Illini last season were instantly eligible transfers. Imatorbhebhe, a Southern California transfer, led the Illini last season with 33 catches, 634 yards and nine touchdowns. Navarro, who arrived at Illinois as a walk-on transfer from Valparaiso but earned a scholarship at mid-season, had 27 catches for 345 yards and a pair of scores.

“The idea that Illinois has had success with transfers and graduate transfers was very interesting to me. It’s why I reached out to them,” Dan said. “You can look at the numbers of those guys and see that if you work hard, what they’re telling transfers about what they can do instantly on the field is truthful. I appreciated the honesty in the conversations right off the bat.”

Dan fractured his wrist after playing in the first three games of last season, which included back-to-back games of two catches against Washington State and Alabama, and intends to apply for a medical redshirt waiver to be eligible for the 2021 season as well.

Dan, who could also help Illinois in the return game as well after being named to first-team all-state as a kickoff returner in Oklahoma following his senior year at Checotah (Okla.) High where he was No. 1 in state in return yards.

After announcing his intention to graduate in May and enter the graduate transfer market, Dan said he immediately had scholarship offers from Football Championship Subdivision programs Western Illinois, Duquesne and Tennessee-Martin but also was being monitored by Kansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Nevada.

“With COVID-19 and everything surrounding that current situation, everything with recruiting has been crazy and so I just knew I wanted to find a place quickly where I could fit in,” Dan said. “That way, I could know where I’ll be and I can go back to focusing on finishing up my online classes at New Mexico State and graduate. I can’t wait to get to Illinois whenever we’re allowed to do so.”

New Mexico State, a FBS independent program, has suffered two straight losing seasons and were a combined 5-19 in Dan’s final two seasons in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

“I looked at Illinois as a program that is coming off a bowl bid and I want to go to a bowl game and have success in my final years of college football,” Dan said. “The fact that they’re trending upward as a program and I can help them right away on the field is a big attraction to me.”