Illinois Football: Illini make top 8 for defensive lineman Devin Lee

The top lists continued to drop for the Illinois football team, and this next one would help bolster the defensive line.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Illini defense is going to continue to improve each and every year. They have a great head coach who is defensive-minded, and there are a ton of talented players coming into the program every year on the defensive side of the ball. One of the next great defensive players for the Illini could be Devin Lee.

Lee is a 6-foot-3, 274-pound strong-side defensive end from Ola High School and resides in McDonough, Georgia. He isn’t rated or ranked by the recruiting sites yet, but this kid has enough recruiting attention where I would put him in the top 1500 among all class of 2021 recruits.

There are about 27 programs that have offered Lee a scholarship so far during his recruitment. A lot of these teams are solid DI programs too. But, on Monday, the talented defensive end decided to cut down his list to just eight teams. The eight programs that will be vying for his commitment include North Carolina State, Kansas State, UAB, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Duke and Illinois.

When I watch what Lee can do on the football field, I don’t necessarily see a defensive end. I see someone who can come in and play an athletic defensive tackle position. He could shoot the gaps and really give the interior offensive line some trouble.

I love Lee’s speed off the line. I think that will be his best attribute at the next level. He doesn’t have tremendous height, but he can get off the line quicker than most. I also love the ferocity Lee plays with. This kid plays a full speed all of the time. That is the motor I love to see in recruits.

Illinois is right in the mix for Lee. He is a player who could come in and see some early playing time. I think it would be best if he redshirts year one, though. He then could play or even start in 2022. Lee would help the Illini win some ball games.