Illinois Football: Illini offer rising 2020 DT Timothy Brown

The Illinois football team has officially entered the sweepstakes for a recruit who continues to rise in the class of 2020.

There are always a handful of recruits who are underrated coming out of high school. These players are put through the recruiting sites and a number spits out ranking them nationally. But what needs to be looked at is the number of scholarship offers and who is offering the player. That is how I am ranking Timothy Brown.

Brown is a 6-foot-2.5, 246-pound defensive tackle from Palm Beach Lakes High School in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 1682 player in the class of 2020 and the No. 110 defensive tackle in the nation. He is also the No. 212 player in the state of Florida as well.

When I see the ranking that 247Sports gave Brown, I automatically think he is a good player who has a few power five conference program offers but the bulk are MAC programs. That isn’t the case with Brown. This kid has so many offers and a lot of them are from big-time teams.

As of right now, Brown has, roughly, 22 scholarship offers. Some of the bigger teams who are vying for his commitment include the likes of Auburn, Miami (FL), Penn State, Florida and Florida State, in addition to Illinois. I could continue on with that list as well, but that is an impressive group of teams wanting this kid to come play football.

It doesn’t surprise me the way teams are coming after Brown. He has attributes that will translate at the next level. Honestly, I think there could end up being a switch to defensive end in college. That is the size that I would be looking for at defensive end. I also like how quick he is off the ball too. If you could get him coming around the end of the line that would be dangerous for opposing quarterbacks.

I also like Brown’s initial burst as well. While he has great speed and can get off the line quickly, his ability to push back the offensive line is invaluable. He has great strength to be able to get through bigger linemen and get to the ball carrier.

Brown is a great recruit for the Illini to get into the mix for. I think he is probably going to stay in the south, but Illinois has done a solid job recruiting Florida talent. It would be nice to, at least, get a visit from Brown.