Illini now

Illinois Lands Transfer Defensive Lineman, Offers Defensive Back – What It Means

Illinois signed Bowling Green transfer Isaiah Thomison and offered defensive back Darrell Mattison of Morgan Park (Chicago) on Saturday
Jared Shlensky|
Oct 4, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema watches warm ups before the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images
Oct 4, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema watches warm ups before the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

In this story:

Illinois Fighting Illini

Illinois football has lost 26 players to the transfer portal this offseason, including four defensive linemen. Slowly but surely, though, the Illini are rebuilding their defensive line – mostly through the portal. Last weekend, Illinois landed defensive lineman Connor Sullivan (Washington State), and on Saturday the Illini signed another defensive lineman in Isaiah Thomison (Bowling Green) via the portal.

Keeping an eye on the defense, coach Bret Bielema also offered high school defensive back Darrell Mattison of Morgan Park (Chicago) on Saturday. Here's what you need to know about the developments:

Isaiah Thomison, defensive lineman

The 6-foot-3, 280-pound Thomison spent his first two years of college at Memphis, but he didn't play in any games for the Tigers. He then transferred to Bowling Green ahead of the 2025 season. Playing in 10 games for the Falcons as part of a defensive line rotation, Thomison recorded 12 total tackles, four tackles for loss and recovered a fumble.

A native of Fayetteville, Tennessee, Thomison has two more years of eligibility remaining and will likely wind up in a competition with Sullivan, Isaiah White and Cameron Brooks for snaps at defensive tackle.

Illinois has now signed 16 players via the portal, and Thomison is the fourth defensive linemen among them.

Darrell Mattison, defensive back

The 6-foot-2, 160-pound Mattison had a big junior year for Morgan Park: 47 tackles, a team-high five interceptions, three pass breakups and a fumble recovery. He has already received a bunch of offers from Power 5 programs, including Iowa, Cincinnati, Michigan, Minnesota, Vanderbilt, Kansas, Kansas State, Ole Miss, Iowa State and Northwestern.

But what really got Mattison noticed nationally was this sensational interception back in September – which was so good that it landed him on SportsCenter:

Mattison is a little light for the prototype Big Ten safety, so a move to cornerback could be in the cards after he arrives at his college destination. He is also a dangerous return man (11 returns for 278 yards in 2025), which only helps his recruiting value.

Illinois is likely hoping that the program's rising fortunes, in-state proximity and established ties to Morgan Park – Mustangs wide receiver Nasir Rankin is one of the Illini's top recruits in the 2026 class – will be draws for Mattison. In any case, Bielema will be contending with plenty of suitors: Mattison received six offers this week alone, and he figures to add another half dozen or so by the time the 2026 football season rolls around.

Published
Jared Shlensky
JARED SHLENSKY

Jared Shlensky is a contributing writer for On SI and a freelance play-by-play broadcaster. Jared was previously a sports betting writer for Yardbarker, an On-Air YouTube Personality for the Sports Geek and a minor league play-by-play broadcaster.

Home/Football