Illini news: Kicker David Olano to enter transfer portal

NEWS:  Just 48 hours ago, Fighting Illini kicker David Olano was drilling the go-ahead game-winner for Illinois, to close out a 30-28 victory over Tennessee in the Music City Bowl. However, since then, the tides have quickly turned.

The Naperville (IL) native announced that he intends to enter the transfer portal with one year of eligibility remaining. In today’s NIL era of college football, shopping the market has been a lucrative decision for several players in Olano’s position. Regardless, this is a big loss for the Illini football special teams corps as Olano is an All-Big Ten kicker with an NFL future. The Illini currently have North Carolina transfer, Lucas Osada, on their roster, but he is mostly known as a kickoff specialist. It is likely that the Illini will search for an option in the transfer portal.

The Illini kicker stated in his social media release, “This decision was not taken lightly, and while I’m excited for what lies ahead, a piece of me will always belong to Illinois. I will forever be thankful to this program. ILL.”

Over the course of two seasons in Champaign, David Olano booted an accurate 86.1% (37/43), including a career-long 50-yarder vs #19 Kansas in 2024.

Sucks but #illini kicker David Olano who hit two game-winning field goals this season is entering the transfer portal for his final year of eligibility

Best of luck to David! I expect some big names to be in the mix for David pic.twitter.com/4b1BNKBdNT

— Armchair Illinois (@ArmchairIllini) January 1, 2026

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