Kendrick Green Practicing At Center During Bowl Practices
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The Illinois offensive line will have some reshuffling when they take the field for the 2019 Redbox Bowl.
Kendrick Green will likely start with his hand on the football at center following Doug Kramer suffering a significant leg injury in the regular season finale loss to Northwestern. Following the team’s first on-campus bowl practice, Green confirmed he was taking reps with the first-team offense at center and Kramer was helping him with his snaps on the sidelines “now that Doug is out”. Green, a third-year sophomore from Peoria, had played most of the year at left guard but slid over to center in the first half of the 29-10 loss to Northwestern.
“I’ve been repping it here and there during the season,” Green said. “Every single rep Doug has been like ‘you got to get lower’ and I’m like dude, shut up I’m trying to get used to this. Doug is going to be a big help for me for sure.
In what has become typical behavior, Illinois fourth-year head coach Lovie Smith hasn’t commented or confirmed any information on the players who didn’t participate in or finish the rivalry game loss to Northwestern. This no comment policy would extend to projected starting quarterback Brandon Peters’ concussion injury sustained in a fourth-quarter hit during the loss at Iowa on Nov. 23. However, Green confirmed he was snapping the ball to Peters during Monday evening’s practice session.
“I had a ground ball (snap) today but he was able to keep the play alive but Brandon came over to me and (jokingly) came over saying ‘dude pick your crap up’ but so far so good,” Green said.
Illinois’ long list of inactive players for the Northwestern game, which will be one month from the scheduled kickoff of the Redbox Bowl, included Peters, leading wide receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe, starting cornerback Tony Adams, starting linebacker Jake Hansen and starting defensive lineman Jamal Woods.
If unable to participate in the Redbox Bowl vs. California on Dec. 30 (4 p.m. CST, Fox) Kramer will end a streak of 27 straight starts. Kramer was named an All-Big Ten honorable mention selection by the league’s coaches and media after being graded the sixth-best center in the nation and third-best among Power 5 Conference programs by Pro Football Focus.
Illinois is projected to have four starters back next season from an offensive line that up to this bowl game have as much continuity as any unit in the nation. Alabama graduate transfer Richie Petitibon was actually the least experienced member of this group but started each of the 12 regular games this season. The four returning starters for the 2020 season (Green, Kramer, Vederian Lowe, and Alex Palczewski) average nearly 28 consecutive starts per man.
Green, who has 24 straight starts at left guard, moved to the offensive line during fall camp of the 2018 season after practicing at defensive tackle during his first season on the Illinois campus. Green was a four-star recruit by Scout.com in 2017 and led Peoria High School to the 2016 IHSA 5A state championship at the defensive tackle position. However, Green said he has experience, albeit not good memories, of playing center at the high school level.
“So my freshman year of high school I started at center,” Green said. “I mean, it was God awful (but) I still loved it. I blew like three games playing at center, snapping the ball over the quarterback’s head. Knock on wood, I don’t have any against Cal. That’s why these bowl practices are key for me.”
When asked if he thought putting good tape together at center in this bowl game could help his NFL prospects, Green joked and said he hasn’t thought about professional football despite being a highly-touted recruit just a few years ago.
“Man, I’m keeping my fat ass right here (at Illinois) probably the whole time,” Green said. “Hopefully, when the time comes, they’ll see I played a little bit of center. I don’t know about all that.”