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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- When coaches refer to their football team as “developmental programs”, it is prospects like Quinton McCoy who they have in mind.

And it can be assumed, Illinois head coach Lovie Smith sees his job as the leader of a developmental program.

McCoy was ranked as a three-star prospect by both 247.com and ESPN.com. He’ll obviously need some time with strength coach Lou Hernandez before he’s ready to consistently get snaps against Big Ten Conference competition but the Florida native possess a high level of athleticism in his 6-foot-2, 260-pound frame.

Early in his college career, he may be asked to play as a big defensive end to set the edge in the run game but most scouts and coaching staffs recruiting him see him eventually as an athletic defensive tackle in a 4-3 scheme.

McCoy had 117 tackles, nine sacks, and 20.5 tackles for loss during his high school career and was the first verbal commitment of Illinois’ 2020 recruiting class. McCoy received early interest from Iowa State and Louisville, with scholarship offers from FIU, South Florida, Toledo, Southern Mississippi, Bowling Green, and Georgia Southern.

McCoy’s presence is was part of a massive rebuild of the Illini defensive line in this 2020 class. Of the 12 commitments of the Illini’s 2020 class, four are defensive linemen and Illinois is attached to the recruiting efforts of three-star prospect/former Georgia Tech commit JaQuari Wiggles.

McCoy’s high school production from the defensive tackle position was rare at such a high-level classification competition in the Florida high school system. The Valrico, Fla., native had 37 tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss, and one blocked punt as a senior at Bloomingdale High School.