Brown is on board

DeKalb (Ill.) three star ranked junior running back recruit Dre Brown (5-foot-11, 191 pounds) just gave Illinois his verbal commitment, the second in-state verbal for the Fighting Illini. Brown is the new Orange (and Blue) and talks about his decision here.

"It feels great to be committed to Illinois," Brown said. "I'm an Illinois kid and I want to help bring Illinois back to the top with this class."

Brown talked about why he decided to give the Fighting Illini his early verbal commitment just minutes ago.

"Illinois offered me right after my freshman season and they have been very loyal to me ever since. I grew up in Springfield and the Decatur area and now living in DeKalb I just feel a sense of loyalty to Illinois. I just felt that I was ready to end my recruiting process. People don't really realize that I've been at this since my freshman year. I've seen schools all over the country and in the end the overall appeal of Illinois was too hard to pass up. Illinois offers a great education and a chance to help turn around the football program and bring it to the top."

Brown will know turn his focus to become another recruiter for the Fighting Illini.

"I definitely want to help us bring in a great class of in-state recruits. I talk with Jimmy (Fitzgerald) a lot and we both want to be active and have another great recruiting class. I feel confident that the pieces are in place for a big turnaround at Illinois and I want to be a part of that turnaround."

Brown from very early on was excited about Illinois and that excitement level never really wavered.

"I liked Illinois the first time I went for a visit and yeah, it never really went away for me. Illinois just always felt comfortable and a place where I could achieve things both on and off the field. It was actually a pretty easy decision for me. I was going to wait a bit but in the end I've seen enough schools and feel 100 percent comfortable with Illinois."

Brown joins Champaign Centennial junior quarterback Jimmy Fitzgerald has early in-state verbal commitment for the Illinois Class of 2015.

Dre Brown is verbally committed to Illinois.