With the early signing period set to kick off, Dallas (Texas) Bishop Dunne four-star defensive tackle Calvin Avery is preparing to sign his NLI with the Fighting Illini on Wednesday.

Although the 6-foot-2, 315-pound lineman previously indicated he would wait until February to sign, a sudden change of plans brought some positive news to the Illinois program.

“I realized that I wasn’t going to take any more trips, so there wasn’t any need to waste everyone’s time sitting here and telling schools I may check them out when I really wasn’t,” Avery said. “I knew I decided I wanted to be at Illinois, so I knew I should just sign and quit playing with everybody’s feelings and stuff.”