After struggling the last few years to land top linebacker prospects, Hardy Nickerson's California connections helped him land a no-doubt power-five talent at the position.

Washington transfer linebacker Camilo Eifler committed to Illinois on Monday, just a few weeks after an unofficial visit. Eifler, who also had interest from Cal-Berkeley and San Diego State, was a top-200 national prospect out of Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, Calif., where Nickerson coached from 2009-13.

Eifler redshirted his first season in Seattle and will have to sit out next season, losing a year of eligibility, due to NCAA transfer rules. He will be eligible for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound linebacker will join the team in August as a blueshirt, the same as grad-transfer quarterback AJ Bush, junior college wide receiver Dominic Stampley and Danville kicker Caleb Griffin.

Eifler played 13 games for the Huskies as a redshirt freshman last season in a reserve role and finished with six tackles. While not a starter, Eifler was a versatile player who was expected to at least be a backup at several positions this fall and was a standout special teamer. He was expected to contend for a starting spot for Washington this fall with the departure of four linebackers (Azeem Victor, Keishawn Bierria, Connor O'Brien and Sean Constantine) due to graduation.

Ranked the No. 142 prospect in the Class of 2016 Composite Rankings, Eifler originally signed with Washington over offers from Illinois, Cal, Colorado, Michigan, Northwestern, Oregon, Texas A&M and UCLA, among others. He was the second-highest rated recruit to sign with Washington back in 2016, just behind CB Byron Murphy who was a Top 100 player in that class.

Illinois has a big need at linebacker for 2019 and beyond. Starting middle linebacker Del'Shawn Phillips will graduate this season, and the Illini have question marks on the rest of the depth chart. The staff is high on redshirt sophomore Jake Hansen, but he suffered a torn ACL last season. Run-stuffing middle linebacker Dele Harding will be a senior during the 2019 season, and sophomores Marc Mondesir and James Knight have limited experience and had little other power-five interest out of high school. The Illini also added true freshmen Khalan Tolson and Jacob Hollins to the roster this month.

The Illini also are heavily recruiting 4-star St. Louis Trinity Catholic class of 2019 linebacker Shammond Cooper, who visited Champaign earlier this month.

Here is 247Sports' scouting report on Eifler as a prep prospect: Eifler is a converted defensive end and as a result, is a very good pass rusher. He has a great frame and just oozes athleticism. He wowed people at The Opening Regional with his ability to play in space and how fluid and effortless he moved around. Despite not having a lot of experience dropping in to coverage, it's an area we think he'll be strong in because of his natural athleticism. We love his physicality and the motor he plays with. He's a tough kid who can mix it up and will be able to move around and play in multiple spots on defense. He should be very good on the blitz and strong in run support. He can run down plays away from him and also take on blocks and make plays run directly at him.