Illinois Football: 5 offensive line targets left for 2020

CHAMPAIGN, IL - NOVEMBER 05: The end zone pylon displays the Big Ten logo during the Big Ten Conference game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Illinois Fighting Illini on November 5, 2016, at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - NOVEMBER 05: The end zone pylon displays the Big Ten logo during the Big Ten Conference game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Illinois Fighting Illini on November 5, 2016, at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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COLLEGE PARK, MD – OCTOBER 27: Football on the field during a college football game between the Maryland Terrapins and the Illinois Fighting Illini at Capitol One Field at Maryland Stadium on October 27, 2018 at College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***

1. Kevin Tyler

I think it is fair to say that the biggest offensive lineman target still left on the board for the Illini is Kevin Tyler. He is someone that could help this program early on in his career and continue building that pipeline to the St. Louis area.

Tyler is a 6-foot-5, 295-pound offensive tackle from Ritenour High School in St. Louis, Missouri. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 819 player in the class of 2020 and the No. 68 offensive tackle in the nation. He is also the No. 16 player in the state of Missouri as well.

247Sports has their Crystal Ball Prediction at 100-percent for the Illini, but that is only an educated guess. No one really knows where players are going until they put pen to paper. I do love our chances at snagging this kid, though.

Back on June 25, Tyler cut his list down to just 10 programs he will be picking from. The 10 teams include Memphis, Kansas, Iowa State, Minnesota, Kansas State, Syracuse, Indiana, Purdue, SMU and Illinois.

I see Tyler playing early on in his career with the Illini. If Verdis Brown stays on the offensive line, he will be a starting tackle in 2020 as a sophomore. The other tackle is probably going to be Vederian Lowe or Kievan Myers. Lowe will be a senior in 2020 and Myers hasn’t had a chance to prove himself. Tyler would have a good shot at getting snaps year one and potentially seeing starts by year two.