Doug Kramer used to unconventional starts

Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — If there’s a senior who has seen the most change in the Illinois program over the past four years, it’s Doug Kramer.

The Hinsdale native had an unconventional route through his recruitment. Kramer originally committed to Florida Atlantic, but quickly took a different path when Illinois interim coach Bill Cubit gave him an opportunity with a grayshirt spot. When Lovie Smith took over in 2016, that grayshirt turned into a scholarship.

“[Doug’s] journey was even more challenging,” Smith said on a Zoom call Friday afternoon. “You know, initially, he came in as a grayshirt really, we put him on scholarship right away, he’s just earned everything.…