Illinois Football: Illini add Evan Kirts to the class of 2019

In the dead of night on Sunday, the Illinois football team picked up an underrated commitment for 2019.

Evan Kirts took to Twitter to announce that he has ended his recruitment and has committed to play football for the Illini. This is a solid pickup for the Orange and Blue. Building up the front lines is important, and Kirts goes a long way in accomplishing those goals.

Kirts is a 6-foot-5, 250-pound offensive tackle from Brother Rice High School in Oak Lawn, Illinois. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 1959 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 160 offensive tackle in the nation. He is also the No. 43 player in the state of Illinois.

Illinois was able to pull in Kirts over programs like Virginia, Western Michigan and Northern Illinois. This is a sneaky pickup for the Illini. I love this addition because he will provide depth in the future, and he brings a lot of talent to the table.

Lovie Smith and the Illinois coaching staff have done a great job getting these types of players and molding them into starters in the Big Ten. Kirts is one of those players that this coaching staff can form into a solid starter.

I really like what Kirts brings to the table. He has nice form and can get into the defender quickly. I think he needs to get a little stronger and bigger, but that will come with a proper training program at Illinois. Judging by the size, I would imagine he ends up moving over to the guard position as well.

Kirts now joins both Ricky Smalling and Cam Miller, both of whom went to Brother Rice, on the Illinois roster. It is nice seeing the Illini build their roster through the Chicago area. There are some pretty good players up there.

Illinois snagged a solid player in Kirts on Sunday night. The Illini now have 11 commitments for 2019 and a recruiting ranking of No. 62 in the nation. This number will continue to get better as more players commit. More dominoes should start falling soon.