The Illini coaching staff is doing a great job recruiting out of state talent. The state of Texas has been one of the bigger producers of talent for the Orange and Blue. The class of 2018 gave us one of the best players in the state, Calvin Avery.
Avery was kind of the start of the recruiting momentum for the Illini. When Lovie Smith and the coaching staff were able to pull this big-time defensive tackle from the Lone Star State, people started to take notice of what was happening in Champaign.
Despite his four-star rating and a ranking in the top 250 among the class of 2018, Avery wasn’t thrown to the wolves.