Chicago Colleges Report

OT Chadwell commits to Illinois

March, 15, 2012

3/15/12

4:01

PM CT

By Scott Powers | ESPNChicago.com

Junior offensive tackle Jesse Chadwell committed to Illinois on Thursday.

Chadwell, who is from Clarkston High School in Michigan, chose the Illini over interest from Michigan, Penn State and Western Michigan. He visited Illinois last weekend.

"I got to talk to with O-line coach (Luke) Butkus and see how he coached," said the 6-5, 250-pound Chadwell. "I knew he was the kind of guy I wanted to play for, and Illinois was the type of school I wanted to play college football at."

Chadwell was also attracted to Illinois because of new coach Tim Beckman and his optimism for the future.

"They have this new motto called ‘Operation New Era,’" Chadwell said. "They want to bring Illinois back to what it used to be. They’re turning everything around. How they talked about how they want to be Big Ten champs and trying to change things, that whole mentality I knew I wanted to be a part of."

Illinois now has two Class of 2013 commitments.

Scott Powers | email

Reporter

Scott Powers is a general reporter for ESPNChicago.com. He is an award-winning journalist and has been reporting on preps, colleges and pros for publications throughout the Midwest since 1997.

Tags:

Illinois, Jesse Chadwell

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Scott Powers

Powers is an award-winning journalist and has been reporting on preps, colleges and pros for publications throughout the Midwest since 1997. He joined ESPNChicago in May 2009 and lives in Chicago.

Adam Rittenberg

Rittenberg joined ESPN.com in 2008 after four years at the Daily Herald, where he covered sports at Notre Dame, Northwestern, DePaul and several other colleges. He lives in Chicago and writes for the Big Ten blog.

Brian Bennett

Bennett joined ESPN.com in August 2008 after nine years at The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky., where he covered college sports and the University of Louisville beat. He lives in Louisville and writes for the Big Ten blog.

Matt Fortuna

Fortuna joined ESPN.com in 2011 after working for MLB.com and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, where he covered college sports. He grew up in New York and is a Penn State graduate. Fortuna's Notre Dame blog is here.

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