Former Illini Church thriving at EIU

CHARLESTON — Devin Church wasn’t getting the carries he wanted at Illinois. Nor the playing time.

So the running back requested a release of his scholarship from then-Illini coach Tim Beckman shortly after the 2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl.

Now, two seasons later, the Detroit native is garnerning opportunities at Eastern Illinois he never had with Illinois. And taking full advantage of them.

“He had a great spring and a phenomenal summer so far,” EIU coach Kim Dameron said. “The thing about Devin that a lot of people don’t know is that he’s a really good football player, but he’s an even better person. He has come in here and not only really assimilated to our culture, but has given us a real shot…