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Two More Illinois Football Players Hit the Transfer Portal – What It Means

The Illini have now lost 23 players to transfer after defensive lineman Angelo McCullom and wide receiver Alexander Capka-Jones entered the portal Thursday
Jared Shlensky|
Dec 30, 2025; Nashville, TN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema watches against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
Dec 30, 2025; Nashville, TN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema watches against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

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The transfer portal opened on Jan. 2 and doesn't close until Jan. 16, but if you thought the portal would slow down after an initial, college football-wide jailbreak, you thought wrong.

Just look at the traffic coming in and out of Champaign: Defensive tackle Angelo McCullom and wide receiver Alexander Capka-Jones are the most recent former Illinois players to hit the portal, bringing the Illini's outgoing total to 23. Don't be surprised if that number soon climbs north of 30.

Below is our breakdown of McCullom's and Capka-Jones' departures.

Angelo McCullom, defensive tackle

McCullom, a 6-foot-2, 300-pound interior lineman, was someone the Illini coaching staff had high hopes for entering 2025, and he delivered with a productive season. A former three-star high school recruit, McCullom played in seven games as a true freshman and then began to flourish as a sophomore this past season: 19 tackles (three for losses), 1.5 sacks, two pass breakups and two quarterback hits in 12 games (including two starts).

McCullom may be ready for a full-on breakout in 2026 – just not for Illinois. It's a shame, too: He has good experience, two years of eligibility remaining, can line up at a few different spots on the line and provides an upfield push that few other Illini linemen consistently demonstrated last season.

McCullom represents one of the bigger hits Illinois has taken among its transfer departures. Even if he didn't start as a junior, he was in line to play a lot in a rotational role (and be a key contributor on passing downs). But so much for that. As for who might replace him, the best guess for now a portal addition. But in case Illinois doesn't find a suitable transfer to replace McCullom, keep an eye on freshmen Isaiah White and Cameron Brooks.

Brooks didn't play in a single game this year, but he has the size to play nose tackle at 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds. White played in the Illini's season opener against Western Illinois before redshirting, and he could very well battle with Brooks for the backup nose tackle job all year long. Either way, Illinois has some time to find McCullom's replacement – but it needs to find someone.

Alex Capka-Jones, wide receiver

Capka-Jones spent three years in Champaign but never found a prominent role with the Illini after dominating the junior college level at Moorpark College. Capka-Jones has at least one more season of eligibility left, and depending on his waiver situation, he could get an additional season on top of that one.

A native of Oak Park, California, Capka-Jones transferred to Illinois and redshirted in 2023 before catching two passes for 21 yards in two games in 2024. He played in a career-high nine games in 2025 but managed to catch just two passes for 31 yards.

Illinois liked a lot of Capka-Jones' intangibles, but he doesn't leave behind a big hole in terms of playmaking production and likely would have entered 2026 as no higher than the team's No. 3 receiver. Plus, the Illini signed three receivers via the portal – Ty Robinson, Alex Perry and Jayshon Platt. Throw in returners Hudson Clement and Collin Dixon and top recruit Nasir Rankin. That would have been a ton of competition to overcome for Capka-Jones, who likely hit the portal in search of a bigger role.

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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.

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