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R250 DT Calvin Avery the latest Illini commit from Bishop Dunne

DALLAS, Tex. -- Two miles north of Bishop Dunne High School, Hampton Road intersects with Illinois Avenue. After Calvin Avery’s commitment to the Illini on Friday night, one might think that cross street heads straight to Champaign.

Avery, who was flanked by his parents to one side and teammate - and fellow Illinois commit - Kievan Myers, announced his commitment at his school’s fall sports media day in the school gym to raucous applause. The Rivals250 defensive tackle immediately became Illinois’ top commitment in 2018, and the twelfth overall in this class.

“One reason I chose Illinois is because of their education program,” he said. “I feel like they can further my education in engineering; that’s what I want to major in. Number two is because of the defensive scheme that they run; I feel like that it will fit me better.

“Three is because I feel like Coach Lovie Smith has great connections to the NFL and that’s where I want to go after my years in college.”

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Myers had his cell phone angled towards Avery throughout his opening statements, recording every word as he thanked family, teammates, coaches and others before revealing his decision. Myers said he hopes they can room together when they get on campus, but despite the obvious closeness between the two, Avery made it clear that the choice was all his to go to Illinois.

“That’s my brother, man,” he said. “I’m going to do a lot for him and he’s going to do a lot for me. People think that he influenced me going to Illinois, but he really didn’t. It was mainly my decision, I just felt that I could be better at Illinois and that’s why I chose them.”

Maybe Myers wasn’t the deciding factor, but he certainly did his share campaigning for Avery to look away from the others in his Top 5.

“First I was telling him about Lovie Smith and how great of a coach he was,” he said. “I told him that he could change the program, that we could change the program. I told him that we could contribute immediately to the program and to the school.”

It’s a good thing that he got involved. While some of the others in final group may have had to get a little creative to try and fit him in their respective classes, his size and talent would certainly make him worth it. With programs like Colorado, Oklahoma and USC all other possibilities, Avery is a cornerstone-type of player for the rebuilding process at Illinois.

Perhaps the closest another team came to winning the Avery’s commitment was TCU - a decidedly closer option, but not one that necessarily offered the best opportunity for him.

“It was real close,” Avery said. “It was like 99.9999.1-percent, around that area. I felt that I could play in (TCU’s) scheme, I just didn’t think that it was really for me. I feel like their scheme is set up more for their linebackers instead of their defensive tackles.”

Rivals250 defensive tackle Calvin Avery (center) discusses his Illinois commitment after announcing on August 4
Rivals250 defensive tackle Calvin Avery (center) discusses his Illinois commitment after announcing on August 4 (NICK KRUEGER | rivals.com)

Avery said that he’s still going to hear others out through the fall, and while he’ll surely take an official visit to Illinois, but it seems others will have the chance to host him as well.

“My recruitment process is still going to be open until National Signing Day,” he said. “I’m still going to talk to other schools … I’m not really sure about any other officials yet, but I am taking them. I’m still taking my five visits.”

Although there may be some drama left between now and February, Illinois is still the odds-on favorite to keep him in the class. He and Myers are already planning to visit on Bishop Dunne’s bye week this fall in addition to a to-be-determined official.

The added time on campus will give Avery the chance to get a little more familiar with defensive line coach Mike Phair. He said that offensive line coach Luke Butkus and area recruiter, wide receivers coach Andrew Hayes-Stoker, have been the more crucial voices in his recruitment thus far.

“They kept in contact with me a lot,” he said. “Coach Phair didn’t really start coming in till a few weeks ago, and that was because Coach Stoker was telling me he’s not really as good at the recruiting thing, but Coach Stoker did his job and got me there.

While the Illini staff may still want to keep a bit of an eye on him through the fall, Avery couldn’t be more complimentary of his presumptive new home in Illinois. He was last on campus in June with several of his teammates, but left with the feeling that he had found the place for him.

“I had a good time up there and there’s really nothing else you can say about that,” he said. “Just the atmosphere was great. The area around Champaign is really beautiful … I am where I want to be and I’m happy with the decision I made.”

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