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Illinois Football: 5 impact freshmen year one for the Illini

By Rees Woodcock

CHICAGO, IL - JULY 23: Head coach Lovie Smith of the University of Illinois football team looks on before the game between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field on July 23, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago Cubs won 5-3. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - JULY 23: Head coach Lovie Smith of the University of Illinois football team looks on before the game between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field on July 23, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago Cubs won 5-3. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – NOVEMBER 05: Fans wave the ‘Hail to the Orange’ flag over Dad’s day as the Illinois Fighting Illini take on the Michigan State Spartans during the Big Ten Conference game on November 5, 2016, at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

2. Verdis Brown

Illinois has signed some big-time recruits for 2018 but there was always one player who the Illini chased and many thought wasn’t coming to Champaign.

Verdis Brown was that player but he did end up committing to the Illini. He is a 6-foot-3, 294-pound defensive tackle from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 326 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 60 player in the state of Florida.

Brown was once committed to Florida State but decided to decommit after Jimbo Fisher left for Texas A&M. Many thought Brown wasn’t going to land with the Illini, though, after a few schools made a hard push. But, Illinois ended up landing him over teams like Florida State, Minnesota and Missouri.

In high school, Brown was a center on offense. But, it now looks like he will be playing defensive tackle in college and this is great for the Illini. I originally had him as the starting center but I think he will end up being a starting defensive tackle anyways.

Illinois didn’t have a good rush defense in 2017. They were ranked No. 113 in the nation giving up 218.5 yards per game on the ground. Getting a player like Brown should help this number tremendously for the Illini.

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