jfigueroa@news-gazette.com
CHAMPAIGN — Dawuane Smoot still remembers his first collegiate tackle.
The 6-foot-3 defensive lineman fondly recalls sprinting 40 yards downfield to catch Southern Illinois slot receiver Israel Lamprakes to put his name in an Illini box score for the first time.
Rather than ending in a sack or a tackle for a loss, like many of Smoot’s defensive plays do nowadays, the pass went for 24 yards and a Salukis first down during a 42-34 Illinois victory to open the 2013 season.
But that tackle acted as a point of realization for the freshman playing in his first college game.