former starter, was now depth and special teams player...
portal is a really wild card here down the stretch to add to usual injury issues
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois defensive back Derrick Smith has entered the transfer portal, 247Sports has learned and Smith is no longer listed on Illinois' online roster.
Smith, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound defensive back, transferred to Illinois prior to the 2019 season and sat out per NCAA rules. He played in seven games this season with 17 total tackles but has played primarily on special teams in the last six games. He had the third-worst defensive grade of all Illini defenders this season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Smith played in all eight games last season with four starts at defensive back and had 22 tackles, a tackle for a loss and a quarterback hurry.
Smith was replaced in Illinois’ starting lineup by breakout defensive back Kerby Joseph, who has been one of Illinois’ top defensive players this season.
Prior to transferring to Illinois in Aug. 2019, Smith was at Miami for two seasons, where he played in 25 games and had 24 tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss in two seasons.
Smith had a special teams tackle on Saturday against Rutgers and had his best game of the season against UTSA on Sept. 4, when he had nine tackles and a tackle for a loss. Though he has had just one defensive snap, according to Pro Football Focus, since a Sept. 11 loss at Virginia -- two weeks ago at Penn State where he played just one snap.
Joseph and Sydney Brown have been Illinois' mainstay players at safety in the last few weeks, leaving Smith to contribute more on special teams than in the defensive rotation.
247sports.com
portal is a really wild card here down the stretch to add to usual injury issues
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois defensive back Derrick Smith has entered the transfer portal, 247Sports has learned and Smith is no longer listed on Illinois' online roster.
Smith, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound defensive back, transferred to Illinois prior to the 2019 season and sat out per NCAA rules. He played in seven games this season with 17 total tackles but has played primarily on special teams in the last six games. He had the third-worst defensive grade of all Illini defenders this season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Smith played in all eight games last season with four starts at defensive back and had 22 tackles, a tackle for a loss and a quarterback hurry.
Smith was replaced in Illinois’ starting lineup by breakout defensive back Kerby Joseph, who has been one of Illinois’ top defensive players this season.
Prior to transferring to Illinois in Aug. 2019, Smith was at Miami for two seasons, where he played in 25 games and had 24 tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss in two seasons.
Smith had a special teams tackle on Saturday against Rutgers and had his best game of the season against UTSA on Sept. 4, when he had nine tackles and a tackle for a loss. Though he has had just one defensive snap, according to Pro Football Focus, since a Sept. 11 loss at Virginia -- two weeks ago at Penn State where he played just one snap.
Joseph and Sydney Brown have been Illinois' mainstay players at safety in the last few weeks, leaving Smith to contribute more on special teams than in the defensive rotation.
Illini defensive back Derrick Smith enters transfer portal
Illini defensive back Derrick Smith has entered the transfer portal, 247Sports has learned.
247sports.com
