Illinois Football: Denver Warren sees what the Illini are building

There were some changes to the Illinois football roster this spring.

One of the big changes was moving defensive tackle, Verdis Brown, back to the offensive line. Brown played a lot on the offensive line in high school but came into the Illinois program as a defensive tackle. The Illini needed more depth on the offensive line, though. It is still to-be-determined if Brown will stay on the offensive line, according to Erich Fisher of Rivals.

I, actually, liked this move by the Illini. The offensive line needs more help this season than the defensive line. Illinois has done a great job recruiting defensive tackles, but come 2020, they are going to need a little more depth because of some departing players.

After the 2019 campaign, Jamal Milan, Kenyon Jackson and Tymir Oliver will be graduating.  All three will play a big role on the team this year. That would leave a lot of room for someone to come in and play snaps right away and, potentially, see some starts in their first year. One of the players I am eyeing for this role is Denver Warren.

Warren is a 6-foot-2, 318-pound defensive tackle from West Aurora High School in Aurora, Illinois. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 422 player in the class of 2020 and the No. 38 defensive tackle in the nation. He is also the No. 5 player in the state of Illinois as well.

Everyone wants Warren on their team, well, except for Michigan. They tossed him aside like he was nothing and directly from the de-commitment tweet, “…the university not having enough room for me on the D-Line roster for 2020.”

For some reason, the Wolverines were too good for Warren, yet almost every program in the nation wants him including the likes of LSU, Iowa, Tennessee and Penn State, among others. Illinois is right there in the mix for this top 500 player as well.

The Illini were going hard after Warren before his commitment to Michigan and even harder since he backed away from the Wolverines. There have been multiple visits down to Champaign for Warren, which included a trip this past weekend for one of the biggest recruiting events of the year for the Orange and Blue. Warren was excited about the first visit to Illinois back in November saying, “Yes sir, I can’t wait! And all I have to say is We Lit.” He also had similar feelings this past weekend.

“Loved it, Amazing!!,” said Warren.

Building that bond, that relationship, is so important for recruiting. Players see the type of environment that is being built with each program. Illinois seems to be succeeding at building a culture and environment that recruits love. This seems to be the thing that stuck out the most for Warren when asked what stood out the most in regards to the Illini.

“The culture and the program,” said Warren, “it’s under great construction.”

Illinois seems to have a solid bond with Warren, but time will only tell if they are a part of his plans. He did end up posting on Twitter some of his recruiting plans moving forward. He said he will have his top 15 on May 10 and will also release the five teams he is going to take his official visits to as well on that same day.

Big things are happening with the Illinois football program. Recruits are starting to see that. This is a big attraction that is keeping the Illini in the running for many big-time recruits. Hopefully, we can land a player like Warren for the center of our defensive line.