Illini land another Andrew lineman

Updated: March 23, 2011 12:34PM

Ron Zook and his staff weren't the only ones recruiting Tony Durkin to play football at Illinois.

Also trying to lure the Andrew center down I-57 to Champaign was his Thunderbolts teammate, defensive end Chris O'Connor.

"He committed way before I did," Durkin said. "He was putting it in my ear (to join the Illini), giving me some grief about not committing yet."

That should be over now that Durkin has given Zook and the Illini a verbal commitment of his own.

"It was a long process," said Durkin, a 6-4, 260-pounder who received 20 Division I scholarship offers, according to Thunderbolts coach Jim Zimmer.

Durkin's final two were Illinois and Minnesota, whose roster includes freshman offensive lineman and Andrew grad Marek Lenkiewicz. Durkin made four visits to Illinois and ultimately decided he felt most comfortable there.

Now he's ready to turn his focus to his final prep season.

"I'm definitely trying to work on getting bigger, faster, stronger," said Durkin, who played at 230 pounds last season.

Endurance is another priority, with Durkin – like O'Connor – expecting to play both ways this fall. With summer workouts winding down, Zimmer met with Durkin and O'Connor and told them what to expect.

"'He said, 'You better not take any time off (because the start of practice),'" Durkin said, "'because you're not coming off the field.'"

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.