VIDEO: Illinois Center Doug Kramer - Tuesday Game Week - at No. 14 Wisconsin
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois center Doug Kramer spoke to local and statewide media for his weekly media conference via Zoom video on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
The topics included the Oct. 23 season opener at No. 14 Wisconsin Friday night (7 p.m., BTN).
Illinois center Doug Kramer participating in team drills during a Oct. 15 practice inside Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill.
David Craan/University of Illinois athletics department
Kramer is a significant part of the Illinois offensive line, which will have the most experienced position group in the Big Ten Conference.
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 survived 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.
Kramer he was rated the No. 3 power-five center by PFF, and was elected as one of the team captains for the 2020 season significant team leader.
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 sports utility vehicle 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.