USC quarterback Matt Fink to transfer to Illinois
Just two day after losing sophomore-to-be M.J. Rivers to transfers, multiple sources are indicating that Illinois will land USC graduate transfer Matt Fink. Fink's father confirmed the news with the LA Times.
Fink took a visit to Illinois this weekend. He will graduate from USC this spring and have two years of eligibility remaining, beginning in the 2019 season. He will not have to sit out due to graduate transfer rules.
Fink served as a backup in two seasons at USC, completing 13-18 passes for 89 yards and 1 touchdown in limited duty. He also had 106 rushing yards on 14 carries with one touchdown.
He played in two games last season as a backup to freshman J.T. Daniels. After spring drills, Fink didn't like his chances to earn the starting job and he entered the transfer portal. This is the second straight season that Illinois is putting its hopes in a graduate transfer after signing former Virginia Tech and Nebraska QB AJ Bush last year.
Illinois has now landed three graduate transfers from USC. Former Trojan defensive end Oluwole Betiku Jr. and wide receiver Trevon Sidney are also headed to Champaign. The Illini tapped into the connections of assistant coaches Austin Clark and Keynodo Hudson, who both had stints on the USC staff.
A native of Rancho Cucamonga in the Los Angeles area, Finke was a three-star prospect coming out of Glendora High School in the class of 2015. He held offers from Notre Dame, Washington, and Utah before picking USC.
Fink will now have an opportunity to compete for the starting job at Illinois with redshirt freshmen Matt Robinson and Coran Taylor, and highly-regarded incoming freshman Isaiah Williams, a Rivals100 prospect out of St. Louis.
Last season, Illinois employed a run-heavy spread attack under offensive coordinator Rod Smith. A good athlete, Fink is more mobile than Rivers, with good straight ahead speed. He played both quarterback and safety in high school. As a passer, Fink has adequate arm strength, but he must deliver the ball accurately with more consistency.
Pro Football Focus graded Fink with a respectable 69.0 as a passer, but he took just 38 snaps and entire season and dropped back for just 12 passes. He's largely an unknown commodity as this point, and it will be interesting to see what he brings to the field in camp later this summer.
The Illini have also hosted Penn State quarterback Tommy Stevens, who is reportedly leaning towards transferring to Mississippi State, with Kentucky and Miami-Ohio also in the mix.