A little over a month after leaving the SEC, Richie Petitbon has landed in the Big Ten. Reportedly.
According to al.com, Petitbon has decided to transfer to Illinois to continue his collegiate playing career. In mid-December, the offensive lineman decided to transfer from the Alabama football program.
Per the same website, Petitbon had also considered Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt before settling on Illinois as his landing spot.
Petitbon is on schedule to graduate from UA this coming May. If that projected course holds, Petitbon would be able to use his final season of eligibility with the Fighting Illini in 2019.
Coming out of high school in Washington D.C., Petitbon was rated as the No. 5 guard in the country and the No. 62 player overall on 247Sports.com’s composite board. Only one offensive lineman, fellow guard Lester Cotton, was rated higher than Petitbon in a Tide recruiting class that was the top-ranked group in that cycle.
Injuries cost Petitbon early as, after redshirting his true freshman season, he suffered a torn ACL that kept him out of all but one game in 2016. He played in three games the following season and then six this year. His appearances in 2017 came at guard, the ones in 2018 at offensive tackle.
