Lovie Smith is starting to sink his teeth in this recruiting thing.

Illinois landed a commitment from four-star defensive tackle Kendrick Green on Wednesday evening. The 6-foot-2, 275-pound lineman was ranked 26th nationally at his position and was the top defensive tackle from Illinois according to Scout. Green hails from Peoria.

Green’s announcement makes him the 15th commit for Illinois 2017 class and is bolstering Smith’s first year on the recruiting trail.

Last week, the Illini were able to nab their first four-star recruit of the year with Delshawn Phillips, a JuCo linebacker.

The Peoria native said he chose Illinois because of its similarity to Peoria high school and believes he would be very comfortable with the program.

I chose Illinois because it felt very similar to Peoria High. I was a part of the rebuilding process at Peoria High, and I plan to do the same in Champaign.

Based on 247 Sports rankings, Illinois still ranks 11th in the B1G and 49th nationally with its 15-man recruiting class.