Former 5-Star DE Prospect Oluwole Betiku Jr. Transfers to Illinois from USC

Defensive end Oluwole Betiku Jr. announced Thursday he's decided to join the Illinois Fighting Illini as a graduate transfer for the 2019 college football season.

Betiku, who sat out the entire 2018 campaign with the USC Trojans following hip surgery, confirmed his selection of the Illini on Twitter:

The Junipero Serra High School (California) standout never lived up to expectations at USC.

Betiku arrived at the program as a 5-star prospect and the No. 15 overall player in the 2016 recruiting class, according to 247Sports' composite rankings. He was also listed as the top weak-side defensive end and one of the top-500 recruits in the outlet's all-time rankings.

He leaves USC with just two tackles and no sacks across three years. He played 14 total games between 2016 and 2017 before sitting out the entirety of 2018.

Betiku told Jonah Puls of Rivals he watched Illinois' practices during an official visit over the weekend to determine whether it'd be a good match.

"I've just been trying to watch practice and see how I fit in the defensive scheme," he said. "I want to see what my role and responsibilities would be. I also want to learn more about the position I will play and what their expectations would be for that."

The most important factor for Betiku is playing time. He rarely saw the field at USC and was then forced to miss an entire season while recovering from his injury. Choosing the Illini should give him an opportunity to fight for a starting job right away.

Illinois finished 128th of 130 Division I teams in yards allowed per game (508) last season and ranked 102nd in sacks (21). So it represents an opportunity for the edge rusher to finally showcase the potential that earned him offers from many of the nation's top programs coming out of high school.