Illinois Football: Illini targeting JUCO DE DeVere Levelston
The Illinois football team has been busy over the past week or so trying to build for the future.
Lovie Smith and his coaching staff have built the defensive line into a solid unit that continues to improve by the day. The depth is what needs to be a priority. That is why the Illini have offered DeVere Levelston.
Levelston is a 6-foot-4, 255-pound strong-side defensive end from Tyler Junior College. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 58 JUCO player in the class of 2020 and the No. 11 strong-side defensive end in the nation. He is also the No. 6 JUCO player in the state of Texas.
Coming out of high school, Levelston wasn’t highly rated. He was only a two-star recruit who was the No. 2746 player in the class of 2019. He only had a couple of scholarship offers during that time too. But he has since impressed with his play on the field for Tyler JC. Levelston now has a variety of offers which include the likes of Arizona, Nebraska and now Illinois.
Levelston is one of the main defensive linemen for Tyler JC. He has played in eight games for them this season and has a total of 42 tackles and 5 sacks. Those numbers are modest for what I think this kid can do at the DI level.
I completely understand why Illinois is pursuing Levelston. I love this kid’s power coming off the defensive line. His ability to rush the quarterback and put pressure on him is impressive. I also like his speed coming off the line. That combination of speed and power makes Levelston extremely dangerous.
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Illinois is now in on one of the best junior college defensive linemen in the nation. It would be nice to add this kid. He would help solidify the front four for the Orange and Blue.