Florida State transfer defensive lineman Dennis Briggs Jr. committed to Illinois on Friday, he announced on social media. The 6-foot-4, 290-pound seventh-year senior in six seasons at Florida State totaled 78 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 6.0 sacks and two forced fumbles.

• Last season, Briggs totaled 14 tackles and 1.5 sacks for Florida State (13-1), which finished one spot outside of the College Football Playoff.
• Briggs had his most productive seasons in 2019 (28 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, 1.0 sack) and 2022 (21 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, 3.0 sacks).
• Briggs played just nine games — starting five of them — between 2020 and 2021 and suffered a season-ending knee injury during the 2021 season.
• Briggs redshirted the 2018 season, earned an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic in 2020 and earned a medical redshirt for the 2021 season, allowing him a seventh season of eligibility.

Why it matters: Briggs is the third transfer defensive lineman to commit to Illinois, joining Youngstown State’s Anthony Johnson and Auburn’s Enyce Sledge. The Illini must replace five of their top six defensive linemen from last season with All-American Johnny Newton and three-time All-Big Ten selection Keith Randolph Jr. headed to the NFL, starting nose tackle Denzel Daxon and backup Bryce Barnes out of eligibility and backup Sed McConnell transferring to Boston College.

Background: A Kissimmee (Fla.) native, Briggs was a four-star prospect in the Class of 2018 and signed with Florida State over offers from Miami, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Oregon and Tennessee, among many others. He started 10 of the 49 games he played at Florida State.