I noticed this past weekend that Mel Kiper has a number of Illinois players listed in his top 10 draft available rankings for every defensive position. And it reminded me that Lovie Smith, while often a terrible disorganized coach, really knew how to identify, target, and recruit "DUDES" for his defense. By "DUDES" I mean guys who looked and played extremely physical. All it really took was a coach like Fat Brett to show up along the new Purdue HC to really get the best out of these players. But check out this list of CURRENT and soon to be FUTURE NFL guys, ALL recruited by Lovie Smith:
Safety Tony Adams - New York Jets
LB Milo Eifler - Washington Commanders
LB Del'Shawn Phillips - Ravens
LB Jake Hansen - Texans
CB Justin Hardee - Jets
Safety - Kerby Joseph - Detroit Lions
DT - Roderick Perry - Cleveland Browns
DE Dawaune Smoot - Jacksonville Jaguars
Defensive dudes expected to get drafted in 2023:
Safety Sydney Brown
DT Jer'Zhan Newton
CB Devon Witherspoon
CB Jartavius Martin
DT Calvin Avery
Lovie definitely was on to something while identifying talent.
Safety Tony Adams - New York Jets
LB Milo Eifler - Washington Commanders
LB Del'Shawn Phillips - Ravens
LB Jake Hansen - Texans
CB Justin Hardee - Jets
Safety - Kerby Joseph - Detroit Lions
DT - Roderick Perry - Cleveland Browns
DE Dawaune Smoot - Jacksonville Jaguars
Defensive dudes expected to get drafted in 2023:
Safety Sydney Brown
DT Jer'Zhan Newton
CB Devon Witherspoon
CB Jartavius Martin
DT Calvin Avery
Lovie definitely was on to something while identifying talent.
