Two sophomore defensive tackles from Mequon Homestead visited Illinois for junior day last weekend, Brandon Hines and Yuri Pogosyan and says the Illini showed them a great time.
"Coach Butkus gave us a tour around the campus," Pogosyan said. "He invited us to the spring game which is in April. He also invited me to their one day camp in the summer, so I will be attending that."
Hines, a 6'3, 265-lber who is already hearing from schools across the country, had a similarly good experience.
"It was really good. We went the day before the junior day and Coach Butkus gave me a really good 1 on 1 tour. His little son tagged along which was pretty hilarious and he took me around campus and showed me everything that the students had access to. One of the best things was this huge rec center all the students use. It's like an L.A, Fitness times five with some really nice features. Then I got to see all the practice facilities and the coaches office where they work and do the recruiting. He showed me literally every room associated with football so that was really nice to get an in-depth look."
Both players got to meet the coaching staff as well and both came away impressed.
"I also got to meet and talk with Coach Golesh who is the recruiting coordinator," Hines said. "I enjoyed it a lot, Coach Butkus is a really family oriented guy with a youthful sense of humor which is very enjoyable to be around. There really isn't any pressure around him which was great."
Hines is reporting additional interest from Oregon, Michigan, Wisconsin, Michigan State and more.