If he didn’t earn a degree from Illinois, he almost did. I marvel at the intelligence of some of these athletes who “earned” degrees at some brainy universities.
I wouldn’t classify the University of Illinois as a ‘brainy’ university. I’ve worked with engineering graduates from there - they’re nothing to write home about - so to speak.
The vast majority of athletes don’t ‘earn’ their degrees in the classroom, they ‘win them’ on the playing field.