David Olano, who connected on the game-winning field goal in 2025 Music City Bowl, has announced his intention to enter the transfer portal.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The last kick for David Olano in an Illinois uniform will be the 29-yard walk-off that won 2025 Music City Bowl on Tuesday night.

The two-time All-Big Ten Conference placekicker announced on social media New Year’s Day morning that he’ll be transferring away from the Illini program and entering the transfer portal to find his new program with one year of eligibility remaining.

Olano was the first and only high school kicker signee by Illinois head coach Bret Bielema and over the last two seasons has established himself as one of the most consistently accurate field goal kickers with leg power that can be relied on attempts over 50 yards.

“To me, he’s the best in the conference, one of the best in the country,” Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer said of Olano after the bowl win. “He’s been money all year long and I’m thinking about that seriously throughout this final drive to put the football where he felt the most comfortable. I just had a lot of confidence in him in that moment because well, he’d done before against USC and that kick was a lot harder.”

Olano’s Illini career ended Tuesday night with a 29-yard field goal that allowed Illinois to defeat Tennessee 30-28 in the bowl game.

“Just a surreal feeling,” Olano said Tuesday night after the Music City Bowl win. “I knew the offense would get me, not jut me but the whole unit, down there with an opportunity to score and major props to Coach Bielema and Coach Lunney getting us down there. The other key thing that is really cool is having a quarterback who has known exactly where I like it on the field for the kick. Luke has done that twice for us this season and I’ve kicked it from a similar spot.”

The High School All-American Bowl selection out of Naperville (Ill.) North connected on 37 of 43 field goals, including a long of 50 yards in 2024 with two of his six misses being kicks that were blocked. He hit at least one field goal in 11 of 12 game this season - with 12 consecutive makes from the second game at Duke through the Week 9 matchup at Washington, to tie for the second-longest streak in Illini history.

“To all the staff, coaches, and teammates that have been a part of my journey since the beginning, thank you for the immense amount of support and guidance you have shown me. Illinois has shaped me in ways I'll cherish for the rest of my life. I'm grateful to have Illinois be a part of me forever.”

Olano’s clutch field goal kicking skill was a huge part of Illinois being 13-4 in one-score games over the last three seasons (2023-25), tying the program record for one-score wins with five in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024. Illinois' two one-score wins in 2025 were the 34-32 last-second victory over USC and a 20-13 snow-covered win over Northwestern in the regular season finale rivalry game. Illinois' five one-score wins in 2023 and 2024 tied the program record first set in 1934. Illinois was 5-1 in one-score games in 2024 with wins over then-No. 19 Kansas, at then-No. 22 Nebraska, Purdue, at Rutgers, and then-No. 14 South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl.

The transfer portal signing window officially opens tomorrow on the morning of Jan. 2 but the unofficial tampering season before that Jan. 2-16 has been consistently open where it is known in the industry, and Bielema has been one of several head coach to publicly acknowledge this past month, that verbal deals have been getting done with players on team all throughout the month of the last two months.

The game-winning field goal was Olano’s second this season as he made a walk-off, 41-yarder in a 34-32 win against Southern California on Sept. 27 and tied an Illinois record with five field goals made in the Illini's 42-25 win at Purdue on Oct. 4.

Olano’s talent and success rate at the collegiate level in field goals and kickoffs is expected to draw him a contract with a very significant salary by a power conference program in the next few days. Meanwhile, back in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois does have North Carolina transfer Lucas Osada, who served as the backup kicker and was on the travel roster throughout the 2025 season, on its roster with three years of eligibility remaining. However, Osada has yet to attempt a field goal in a collegiate game in his two years of experience as a kickoff specialist with the Tar Heels and Illini and Bielema’s coaching and player personnel staff could likely be looking for an experienced option going into the upcoming 2026 season.