News: Illinois Football lands Bowling Green Transfer Defensive Lineman

News: As first reported by Jeremy Werner of Illini Inquirer, Illinois Football has landed Bowling Green defensive lineman/edge rusher Isaiah Thomison, with two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Following two inactive seasons at Memphis University during his true and redshirt freshman seasons, the Fayetteville, TN native made a transition to the MAC, where he appeared in 10 games for the Falcons in 2025, and racked up 12 tackles (4 s0l0). There’s undoubtedly room for Thomison to develop and progress before diving full steam into the brutal week-to-week battles of the Big Ten trenches. That said, pending some work with Terrance Jamison and physical development with Illini strength and training coach Tank Wright, the athletic 6’3 and 280lb edge rusher could work his way into an impactful role for Illinois Football in 2026.

Isaiah is the second addition of the early offseason in coach Jamison’s unit. Alongside Penn transfer Carter Janki, he’ll compete for reps in a D-line room that has faced a major recent overhaul with Angelo McCullom, Tomiwa Durojaiye, Curt Neal, Eli Coenen, and Jeremiah Warren entering the transfer portal, in addition to Gentle Hunt and James Thompson Jr. graduating to the next steps in their careers.

Is it a “flashy” addition? Not necessarily. However, Bret Bielema’s staff has had a good eye for developmental talent to this point. The intangibles are there, and these next 6-7 months of development will be key.

NEWS: Per Illini Inquirer, Bowling Green DL Isaiah Thomison has signed with the #illini.

Thomison had 12 tackles and 3.0 tackles for loss last season for Bowling Green. He spent two years prior to that at Memphis pic.twitter.com/ABVVrJ3rrI

— Armchair Illinois (@ArmchairIllini) January 17, 2026

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