Illinois Football: Calvin Avery ready to work for his playing time
The Illinois football team has started the season off 2-1 after falling to South Florida this past weekend. This isn’t a bad start to the 2017 campaign by any means.
Illinois still has some work to do and there are holes to fill on this team. That is why the class of 2018 is so important. This class will continue building what the class of 2017 has started. One big recruit who has committed to Illinois for 2018 is Calvin Avery.
Avery is a 6-foot-2, 310-pound defensive tackle from Bishop Dunne High School in Dallas, Texas. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 191 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 17 defensive tackle in the nation. Getting Avery is one of the biggest accomplishments for Lovie Smith to-date.
I wanted to catch up with Avery to see how things were going and to see what he thought about the Illini season so far. I asked him his thoughts on the season before the South Florida loss, so keep that in mind. When asked what his thoughts were about the season so far, he responded with a rather upbeat answer.
“Well, I think they really have been focused on what they are trying to accomplish this season,” said Avery, “hopefully they can keep it up.”
Illinois’ record is now at 2-1 but Avery nails it on the head. The team needs to keep their focus on their goals this season and don’t pay attention to outside noise and the record. Play the game and know your assignments and everything else will fall into place.
The decent start for the Illini has garnered some attention. Not because they were particularly good wins, although Western Kentucky was solid, but because who is on the field for this football program. Illinois continues to trot out freshman after freshman. They are the main contributors for this Illini team. When I asked Avery what he thought about the amount of freshmen playing and if that is a draw for him, he responded in a great way.
“I don’t know the players that are playing but I do know nothing is given,” Avery said, “you have to work for what you want.”
From the sounds of it, Avery is a nose to the grindstone type of player. He is not expecting to have a starting spot given to him. He wants to earn it with hard work on the football field. This is the type of player Lovie is bringing into the program. The culture is changing and so is the losing ways.
The final two questions in the interview were simple, fun, questions. The first one I asked was who Avery modeled his game after. He replied by saying Aaron Donald and then sent me a picture of Donald with the caption “Sneaky quality: Hands”. If the Illini are getting a player like Donald with Avery, then the Big Ten better watch out. Avery is about to wreak havoc.
Avery then answered the last question in about the best way you could as well. I asked him what his favorite pregame meal was. Avery’s answer, “I don’t have one, I’ll eat about anything.”
Next: Good, bad and ugly from South Florida loss
I think Avery is going to be a special player for the Illini in 2018 and beyond. He has a ton of potential and, despite not being picky about what he eats before games, he will have a huge appetite for sacking quarterbacks and tackling running backs for the Orange and Blue. I can’t wait to have this kid suit up for the Illini.