Linebacker Hardy Nickerson transferring from California to Illinois

The Fighting Illini football defense just secured a huge addition. Via Twitter, former California middle linebacker Hardy Nickerson announced his intent to transfer to Illinois in order to play for his father, Hardy Nickerson Sr., who's the new Defensive Coordinator in Champaign. The 6-foot, 230-pound senior will be immediately eligible to play in 2016.

Hardy Nickerson will graduate transfer from Cal to play for his father at Illinois https://t.co/8Jl1sDeRXc pic.twitter.com/vnjaYOZWjA

— GoldenBlogs (@GoldenBlogs) April 21, 2016

During his four seasons at Berkeley, Nickerson appeared in 34 games and totaled 246 tackles. You can click here to view his season totals, and his 2015 game log can also be found right here.

This is a huge addition for the Illini, who are looking to replace two starting linebackers in Mason Monheim (graduation) and T.J. Neal (transfer). The news only just broke, but it's already hard envisioning a scenario in which Nickerson isn't No. 1 on the depth chart heading into Week 1.

Gigantic. Massive pick-up. Biggest position of need. Lose one top-50 tackler in cfb (TJ Neal) and pick up another (Hardy Nickerson Jr)? HUGE

— Robert (@ALionEye) April 21, 2016

You can view Nickerson's announcement in the below tweet.

ANNOUNCEMENT pic.twitter.com/ApAzKh2jS3

— Hardy Nickerson (@younghardy_) April 21, 2016