NEWS: Former Illini Donovan Leary Transferring to Tulane

Former Illini football quarterback, Donovan Leary, has decided to commit to Tulane University per Matt Zenitz and Chris Hummer of 247sports. Leary entered the transfer portal on December 12th in hopes of finding a new school that would give him the opportunity to earn starters reps. Leary has been the backup at Illinois and would have likely reprised his role with star quarterback, Luke Altmyer, announcing his return for the 2025 season. Donovan was solid in limited reps, most notably he came in for a two-point conversion play against Michigan. Starter Luke Altmyer was out for that specific play due to his helmet coming off, but Leary came in off the bench and threaded a beautiful pass to Zakhari Franklin. To replace Leary, the Illini brought in NIU transfer, Ethan Hampton.

Additionally, Donovan Leary threw for 207 yards in the 2024 Spring game, including a number of impressive deep balls. Hopefully, he can compete for a starter’s role at Tulane. However, it will surely be a competition as Tulane recently brought in Graduate transfer, TJ Finley, who started his career at LSU and played meaningful snaps at Auburn and Texas State.

The New Jersey native will have two years of eligibility remaining.

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