Illinois transfer DL Eli Coenen commits to Michigan State
Michigan State is adding help to its defensive line. More on Coenen here.
Michigan State has earned a transfer portal commitment from former Illinois defensive lineman Eli Coenen.
Coenen is coming off of a visit to East Lansing on Jan. 6 and Jan. 7. He will have two years of eligibility remaining.
Iowa was also pursuing Coenen out of the transfer portal.
At Michigan State, Coenen will play under head coach Pat Fitzgerald, defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, defensive line coach Winston DeLattiboudere III and the rest of MSU's newly-hired staff.
The 6-foot-7, 290-pound interior defensive lineman played in 12 games for Illinois as a redshirt sophomore in 2025. He recorded 12 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks on the campaign.
According to Pro Football Focus, Coenen played 222 defensive snaps for the Fighting Illini. He saw the majority of his reps as as a defensive tackle, but he also played snaps as a defensive end as well. He earned an overall defensive grade of 63.6 and a tackling grade of 80.2, per PFF. Coenen also saw 14 snaps on special teams this past season.
Prior to Illinois, Coenen spent his first two seasons at Division II Bemidji State in Minnesota. In 2024 as a redshirt freshman, he tallied 20 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and one pass break-up for the Beavers. As a true freshman in 2023, he appeared in two games and amassed two total tackles.
In high school at Baldwin-Woodville in Wisconsin, Coenen was an All-State honorable mention selection and earned first-team All-Region honors. He also played basketball in high school.
Coenen's pledge gives Michigan State 25 public commitments. Coenen joins fellow defensive tackle Carlos Hazelwood, defensive end Keahnist Thompson and EDGE Trey Lisle at the defensive line and rush ends positions in the 2026 portal class for the Spartans.