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We've known about it since Friday, but the school made the official announcement on Tuesday. Greg Colby is the new defensive line coach, replacing Keith Gilmore after he left for North Carolina.
"Greg Colby brings a wealth of coaching experience and Fighting Illini historical football knowledge to our staff," said Tim Beckman in the release. "Greg grew up in Danville, was a great student-athlete at Illinois, was on the coaching staff here for eight years, and has worked at several different successful programs since. He has built some outstanding relationships with his extensive recruiting experience in the Chicagoland area. Greg understands what it means to be a Fighting Illini football player and what it takes to be successful here. I have no doubt our players will respond very positively to him as a coach and as a person."
That's all well and good but is Colby excited to come back to Illinois?
"I'm thrilled at the opportunity to come back," Colby said. "When I left and went to Michigan State in 1995, it was the intention to improve my coaching skills and come back here at some point in time, possibly finish my career here, and it has worked out. I'm going to do everything I can to help Coach Beckman take this program back to where it belongs, and in the short time I've been back on campus, I'm very confident that's going to happen."
The release also mentions about how Colby coached under Nick Saban at Michigan State, so with Colby as part of Nick Saban's coaching tree and Beckman on Urban Meyer's, I assume this means we're going to win ALL THE NATIONAL TITLES now.
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