CHAMPAIGN – There’s the picture on twitter of Dre Brown as the old man.

You know the Facebook app. The one that puts years on your portrait, perhaps giving you a chance to look into the future to steal a hint of what you may look like in 30 or 40 years. Well, there’s Brown with the crow’s feet and gray hair.

By looking at that pic, he’s the old man in the Illini locker room. Truth be told, he’s the old man in the locker room with Illini football, but he’s healthy, feeling young again and breaking big plays in Illini preseason football camp.

“Dre Brown is a tremendous football player,’’ said Illini offensive coordinator Rod Smith. “He’s run big plays and big runs day after day. I’m excited about Dre. I’m excited about the whole (running backs) room, but I’m excited about Dre staying healthy.

“He may have had the best camp of all the running backs last year, then he had the turf toe right before the season in game week against Kent State. He was able to stay healthy through the rest of the season, and he was healthy through spring ball for the first time in his career. When he’s healthy, he’s a player.’’

With a backfield that boasts big play Reggie Corbin, Mike Epstein and Ra’Von Bonner, Brown has stolen the attention early in camp by breaking off a big run every day so far. After overcoming knee injuries that nearly halted his career, Brown has regained his speed and showed off a burst. Now fully healthy, he’s beaming with confidence and concentrating with a veteran’s awareness, and Brown has the versatility to get him on the field for plenty of snaps this fall.

Smith already lined Brown up as a running back and a slot receiver, where he showed off an ability as a pass catcher.

“I remember sitting here for three straight years watching camp,’’ Brown said. “Now, I’m participating. I’ve seen the worst of it, and now I’ve seen the best of it. This is the best I’ve felt, honestly, in my life. I feel like I’m past the injuries now. My last knee injury was three years ago. I’m past that. I feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be.’’

This is just another element moving forward for a running game that finished second in the Big Ten a year ago, even if Brown never thought it would take so long.

Brown expected to make an impact years ago. The heralded recruit from DeKalb rushed for 1,936 yards and 23 touchdowns as a DeKalb senior, and he was rated as the eighth best recruit in the state by Rivals. After arriving in campus as a four-star recruit for the spring semester in 2015, Brown’s career hit a snag. He suffered two major knee injuries, sidelining him for two years.

“I try to tell people me and Dre played together back in the day,’’ said running backs coach Mike Bellamy, making even himself chuckle on that one. “These are the reasons why you coach college football. You see a kid like that go through what he went through, then see him after spring practice cry because he finally made it through healthy.

“Then today he knows his role and knows it’s important. He’s humble enough to know you can take it away like that and focused enough to make sure we can be successful. He’s focused on everything, whether it’s blocking or the passing game. He’s a track guy, so he always had that speed. I’m impressed with his consistency and his commitment.’’

Brown broke the ice last fall, rushing for 92 yards against Minnesota, but he’s looking more like a key piece of the equipment this fall. He comes a long way since those days sidelined by injuries to both knees.

“I’m sure Dre had thoughts that this isn’t for me,’’ Smith said. “When I first got here, one of the first questions was I don’t think Dre is going to stick it out. It was about getting his mind right and getting relationships with the coaches. He’s comfortable in his own skin.’’

He’s already served as a team leader.

It’s been such a long Illini career, “I’ve been here through three coaching staffs and three playbooks,’’ Brown said.

“I’ve been here the longest,’’ Brown said, referring to the coaches and players. “I’ve been here since January of 2015. They think it’s funny because I’ve been here for a while. The freshmen come to me for wisdom.

“I just try to tell them to concentrate on the simple things. Take care of yourself and take care of your body. I tell them to learn the playbook and try to tell them how to be a Big Ten football player.

“They have to be focused for every play. Things happen so fast. If you’re not focused, you miss a carry or you miss where to go. We like to laugh, but we teach them to be focused inside the lines.’’

The leadership role is a big part of Brown, Bellamy said.

“These guys are sitting there, and they lean on each other’s shoulders for experience purposes, school purposes and when somebody gets hurt,’’ Bellamy said. “Right now, they are pushing each other.

“Seeing guys like these guys who haven’t played in a bowl game, they have a chance to be successful. They’ve been the laughingstock. To see them work hard and not accept mediocrity is a pick-me-up to start camp.’’

He doesn’t have gray hair yet, but Brown is a wise old man in the backfield but playing like a freshman colt.