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Illinois Football: Verdis Brown ready to make Illini great

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - OCTOBER 29: Illinois fans celebrate during a Big Ten Conference football game between the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and the University of Illinois Fighting Illini on October 29, 2016, at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, IL. Minnesota won, 40-17. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - OCTOBER 29: Illinois fans celebrate during a Big Ten Conference football game between the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and the University of Illinois Fighting Illini on October 29, 2016, at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, IL. Minnesota won, 40-17. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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There is a lot of excitement for the Illinois football team heading into the 2018 season.

Despite having a down year – 2-10 after a 3-9 campaign the previous season – Illinois has a good class of 2018 coming in with some powerhouse players who plan to play right away. Some of these talented recruits will even get the starting nod.

There are a few positions that will look completely different. On the defensive line, you are likely to see two different starting defensive tackles in 2018.

Last year, Illinois had a mix of Jamal Milan, Tymir Oliver and Kenyon Jackson manning the two defensive tackle positions. While all of these players are returning for 2018 and should make an impact, Lovie Smith brought in two great defensive tackles that are looking to start right away.

The obvious starter for the Illini at defensive tackle is going to be Calvin Avery. He is the highest rated recruit for Illinois in the class of 2018. He is a four-star defensive tackle who is the No. 205 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 18 defensive tackle in the nation.

There was never a question Avery would come in and start immediately. This kid has so much talent, and I can’t wait to see what he can do on the field. The other defensive tackle will likely be Verdis Brown.

Brown committed to Illinois after a long recruitment. He is listed as a four-star center who is the No. 326 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 6 center in the nation. But, Lovie and the Illini have a plan of converting Brown into a three-technique defensive tackle. This will get him a starting spot he told Allen Trieu of 247Sports in a great interview at the Under Armour All-American Game practice.

In the interview by Trieu, Brown goes into detail about what his plans are after the UA All-American Game. It is a great read but what really made me excited for this kid is how excited he is to be in the Orange and Blue. He wants to get this program up to a point where they are great again. That is one of the reasons why he is enrolling early at Illinois as well. He is going to have a chance to learn the system in spring practice and this will be a great benefit to him moving forward.

Next: Can the Illini get back to 2008 Rose Bowl level?

The Illinois defensive line is going to look different in 2018. They have two talented defensive tackles coming in who will revolutionize the position while in Champaign. I can’t wait to see how good this Illini defense is going to be for the next three years.

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