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Lovie Smith on Illinois freshmen: We’re going to see a lot of them this year

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Even though Lovie Smith is entering his second season as the head coach at Illinois, this is the first year he’ll have one of his recruiting classes in uniform.

From the sound of things, a lot of the commitments Smith brought to Champaign are going to see early playing time.

“I think there’s a good chance…we’re going to see a lot of them this year,” Smith told reporters on Saturday. “They’ve done well. I mean, they’ve come so far in such a short period of time. And that’s good for a freshman, but once we tee it up you’re not interested in what year in school they are.’

Smith was hired after National Signing Day in 2016, as Illinois AD Josh Whitman brought in the longtime NFL coach just in time for spring workouts. With his first class on campus, it seems like Smith is happy with how the group as performed.

It’ll be interesting to see which newcomers see the field in 2017 and who carves out a significant role as the season progresses.

The Illini open the season against Ball State on Sept. 2.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB