‘An all-Illinois high school products offensive line’: Illini OL Starters Will All Be From The Home State
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- From left to right, this is how the Illinois offensive line could introduce themselves: Vederian from Rockford, Jordan from Belleville, Verdis from Chicago, Doug from Hinsdale, Kendrick from Peoria and Alex from Mount Prospect.
In many ways than one, this is truly an Illinois offensive line.
While the injury and fall labrum surgery of Wofford graduate Blake Jersaty was obviously unwanted and untimely, Illinois head coach Lovie Smith immediately created a nice statewide program billboard moment for big boys in orange and blue in the 2020 season.
“By Blake not being able to play right away, that’s an opportunity for someone,” Smith said. “We have the chance for an all-Illinois high school products offensive line.”
And the Illini fifth-year head coach is exactly correct as all of the program's top six offensive lineman were born in the state of Illinois and for just the second time this decade, Illinois will open a football with its five starters up front all being in-state products.
“I think that’s a huge thing,” Illinois senior center and co-captain Doug Kramer said. “What I think it could do is add another layer if we do have success as an offensive line and an offense in this season that you’ll be able to point and look at how those are five in-state kids who decided to stay home, took pride in that and wanted to win here.”
Jersaty was projected to slot into the right guard left by Richie Pettibon as the graduate transfer from Alabama found a nice role with the Illinois natives to produce one of the most successful Illini offensive lines in Smith’s tenure in Champaign. However, Illinois will now turn to either sophomore Verdis Brown or Jordyn Slaughter to take over the role they were recruited more than three years ago to eventually overtake.
“We've been waiting for Verdis Brown to step up, a guy like Verdis Brown (and) Jordyn Slaughter. So we feel like we have some other players that can step in,” Smith said. “But we'll miss Blake.”
Illinois will have the most experienced offensive line in the Big Ten Conference when the 2020 season begins in October.
It’s a group that has produced a bond for the veterans such Kramer, left tackle Vederian Lowe, left guard Kendrick Green and right tackle Alex Palczewski, who grinded out the low points of being thrown into a starting lineup as a freshman and sophomore and totaled 125 combined starts among the four returning pieces. Pro Football Focus published this summer that Illinois has the most experienced production returning from any five-man offensive line unit in the Big Ten Conference.
The only member of this group of six offensive lineman who has left his home state to play football is Verdis Brown as he went from Chicago to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., for his high school career. However, Brown developed into a four-star interior lineman prospect at arguably the nation’s best high school program but eventually turned down scholarship offers from power programs such as LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida State and Tennessee to sign with the Illini.
This bond of this Illinois offensive line that showed up on social media this summer as videos tagged with nearly the entire position group showing Kramer pushing his truck in a parking lot and Palczewski pulling his Jeep down his home street while his father shouted what could only be described as workout motivation. Illinois strength and conditioning coach Lou Hernandez said last spring he couldn’t be happier his offensive lineman were finding unique ways to stay in shape if or when training camps open for the 2020 football season.
“They certainly have surpassed my creativity, that’s for sure,” Hernandez said. “It’s really exciting to see how much it matters to these guys to find a way to continue to stay the course on everything that we have set coming up for our season.”
The success of these in-state products up front has translated into a trickle-down effect for Illini recruiting as 2021 three-star center Josh Kruetz, from Loyola Academy in Wilmette, verbally committed to play for Illinois.
“The coaches are really what attracted me to come there and I really think they’re on the right track so I’m excited to go play for them,” Kreutz said.
After Smith stood at the podium during signing day for the 2020 class and admitted to going 0 for 19 on scholarship offers sent out to in-state talent, Kreutz became the first in-state commit for the Illini since three-star defensive lineman Keith Randolph signed in 2019 out of Belleville.
“It could be something for the future to look and point to but I’ve got to say we’ve had a decent amount of Illinois guys on this offensive line over the last three years,” Kramer said. “We just have a lot in common so we get along on and off the field. That’s big for chemistry.”