(This article originally appeared on www.orangeandbluenews.com.)
An Illini recruit whose verbal commitment wasn't enough to stop coaches at USC and Arizona State from continuing their pursuit has had no second thoughts, and is all-systems-go to cement his verbal on signing day.
Josh Brent, a 6-foot-3, 280-pound defensive tackle from Bloomington (Ill.) Central Catholic High School, kept receiving calls from the two Pac-10 schools well after verballing to Ron Zook the day after Christmas. But his commitment to the Illini remained solid.
"When we went on break December 21, from then until Christmas were the most peaceful days I had all year," Brent said Wednesday. "The coaches didn't call, and I started to clear my head and think clearly, and not be tossed one way or the other. And that's when I picked Illinois."
Since verballing to Zook, Brent has turned a passing interest in the recruiting game to a very active one, and boasts an impressive knowledge of the rest of Illinois' vaunted 2007 class.
"We have three guys coming in early, a whole bunch of guys coming in the summer, and overall the class just comes from a background of winning," Brent said. "Everybody that's coming in has the potential to be great players."
Brent is impressed by leaders that set goals, and he said Ron Zook has set a firm one for this Illini program.
"We are going to be in a bowl game," said Brent. "We know that success isn't going to come instantly, we have to put in the work, we'll make progress, start out by having more wins, then we'll win some games we shouldn't win."
According to Brent, Zook has laid out a goal for the team to earn a bowl bid by no later than the 2008 season. Beyond that, Brent says, 'the sky is the limit'.
"Everybody can be great. My number one goal, of course, is to make the NFL, but after that, its just starting to be more successful as a team."
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