This made me laugh...you mean to tell me, they went all the way down to IMG academy just to come back to Champaign, Illinois?
As a preface I don't know if Verdis Brown is or is not considering the Illini. Unlike 98% of incoming recruits he has been attending school far away from home. Possibly he is considering the Illini to be closer to home and the fact that he might see early playing time is attractive to him. (Nick Allegretti is the current center and in 2018 will be playing his last season) Brown redshirts his first year and could possibly start 4 years at center. Couple that with the fact that time is now short and most D1 programs don't have many, if any slots left.
I could be completely off but the Illini could be attractive for a few reasons.