Bob Asmussen | Brown returns home with the Illini

May 2—CHAMPAIGN — Dre Brown wasn't looking to move. He had a good gig at Notre Dame, working as director of recruiting for Marcus Freeman's program.

But when your school calls, you have to listen. Brown was hired April 18 as the Illinois football director of player personnel. He replaces Nate McNeal, who left last winter for a similar position at Syracuse.

Illinois coach Bret Bielema pursued the school's former running back, who gained 902 yards and scored seven touchdowns playing for the Illini from 2015-19.

"I was still kind of going back and forth," Brown said Wednesday at the Smith Center. "When I got on the campus, I almost immediately fell back in love with this place. Coach B. really sold me on his vision for this program. Being here two weeks, he's the hardest working head coach I've been around."

Bielema told Brown he was being hired because of the work he has done in his previous stops. That he is a former Illinois player is a bonus.

"I just feel I'm the best person for this job," the 26-year-old Brown said.

Originally signed by Tim Beckman, Brown played for Bill Cubit and Lovie Smith. One of his most important performances as a player came against Wisconsin in 2019, when he helped the Illinois upset the sixth-ranked Badgers at Memorial Stadium. The next week at Purdue, Brown ran for a career-high 131 yards on a rain-soaked afternoon for a win against the Boilermakers.

Brown's final season at Illinois ended with an appearance in the Redbox Bowl in Santa Clara, Calif.

Paying attention

After earning his master's degree in business from Illinois and briefly working at Busey Bank in downtown Champaign in the summer of 2020, Brown got back into college football.

First, as a recruiting coordinator at Tennessee where former Illini assistant coach and now South Florida coach Alex Golesh helped him land a gig with the Volunteers. Then, after a brief time in Knoxville, Tenn., he joined the Notre Dame staff.

Brown followed what was happening at Illinois. He has family in the state and his in-laws live in Champaign, with his wife, Lindsay, a Centennial graduate.

"I saw the program have a lot of success in 2022," Brown said. "Why did they have success? They had a lot of NFL draft picks playing out there at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Seeing what they've done and what we can do, it makes me excited to come back."

Brown wants to take what he learned at Tennessee and Notre Dame and apply it to Illinois.

"Recruiting is early and earlier nowadays," he said. "There are some eighth-graders getting offers. It's important to identify and recruit early. That way you can get them on campus."

Brown grew up in DeKalb and didn't have much knowledge about the Illinois program until he came for a visit at age 15. He was quickly hooked.

"Once kids get to campus," Brown said, "they'll realize why this is such a cool place."

As an alum, selling Illinois will be easy for Brown. He can point to his own experiences when meeting with prospects.

"Taking a kid on a campus tour, 'Hey, here are the spots to eat. Here are the dorms. Here are the classroom,'" he said. "I've been through it, done it."

Brown's duties at Illinois will be similar to his job at Notre Dame.

"It's a little bit of everything," he said. "A lot of it will be evaluating and building relationships with high school coaches, parents, recruits. Really anybody."

Home grown

Since he took over at Illinois in December 2020, Bielema has emphasized recruiting the state as his top priority.

"It's a big deal," Brown said. "There's a lot of great talent in Illinois. When I was at Notre Dame, I recruited a lot of the great talent in the state of Illinois. We've got to keep these guys home."

Brown will lean on Illinois executive director for player personnel Pat Embleton. They first met when Brown was 14. Brown said the reception from high school coaches and prospects has been "awesome."

"Now, it's just getting them to come down to Champaign," he said.

When he started the new job, Brown was given a bag of Illinois gear.

"I was like 'This is where I'm supposed to be. This is home,'" Brown said. "It's really good to be back."