Before the start of Illinois football's training camp on Aug. 2 in Champaign, beat writer Scott Richey is counting down the Top 50 most important Illini heading into the 2019 season:
No. 45: Verdis Brown
Vitals: 6-4, 315, R-Fr., OL
Hometown: Chicago
High School: IMG Academy (Fla.)
Looking back at 2018: Brown was one of Illinois' highest-rated recruits in the 2018 class — a four-star prospect by both Rivals and ESPN in addition to being an Under Armour All-America Game invitee — but he sat out last fall with what Illinois called an "academic redshirt.