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Illinois Football: 6 Illini players have shot at an NFL career

By Rees Woodcock

Sep 10, 2016; Champaign, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot (91) and defensive lineman Carroll Phillips (6) tackle North Carolina Tar Heels running back Elijah Hood (34) in the endzone for a safety during the 2nd quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Granse-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 10, 2016; Champaign, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini defensive lineman Dawuane Smoot (91) and defensive lineman Carroll Phillips (6) tackle North Carolina Tar Heels running back Elijah Hood (34) in the endzone for a safety during the 2nd quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Granse-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Illinois football team had a disappointing NFL Draft showing this year.

I thought there were going to be more Illini players selected in the draft but there ended up only being one out of the possible six. It came as a surprise that Carroll Phillips didn’t get drafted. He was projected to go between rounds three and five.

The only Illinois football player to get selected was Dawuane Smoot. He was picked by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round. It was exciting to see another Illini player drafted into the NFL because that looks good for the program.

Despite only one player getting selected, Illinois still had five other players picked up as undrafted free agents. These players are going to have a chance to stick with an NFL team.

Oddly enough, Phillips is going to be joining Smoot in Jacksonville. These two dominated the line of scrimmage in college, now they will have a chance to make a struggling Jaguars defense into one of the best in the league.

I think Smoot with have a chance at playing early on in his career, and I think Phillips will have a good chance at sticking with the team as well. The ability is there I just think with him switching to linebacker, teams were hesitant to draft him.

Wide receiver Justin Hardee will be joining former Illinois football player Whitney Mercilus in Houston as he tries to add a spark to their offense. The Texans picked up this talented wide receiver to hopefully, play alongside DeAndre Hopkins.

Houston doesn’t have a ton of wide receiver depth. I wouldn’t doubt if Hardee sticks much like Geronimo Allison stuck with the Green Bay Packers as a free agent.

Joining both of these guys in Houston will also be Gimel President. He is an extremely underrated player that could have started for many teams last season. He should be able to help the Texans defense and team up with Mercilus to really make the team better.

I am excited to see Hardy Nickerson get picked up as well. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals to help their defense. The only worry with Nickerson is his size. He is a little undersized for the position, but he makes up for it with his heart and field vision. I could see him sticking as well.

The final player to get picked up is quarterback, Wes Lunt. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings. I am so happy for this kid because he is going to get a shot to impress an NFL team.

Lunt had such a rough college career. Now he comes into a situation in Minnesota where the starting quarterback is injured frequently and the backup has a career in question. There is room for Lunt to rise on the depth chart if he performs well enough.

Illinois also had Rob Bain invited to the New York Jets rookie mini-camp. This will at least give him a shot to show Jets coaches what he has on the field.

Next: 3 options for the future center position

I am pumped to see all of these players get a chance to make the NFL. They went through a lot in their careers at Illinois and all of their hard work is finally paying off.

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