Barry Odom has made a few changes to Missouri's recruiting approach since taking over last December. One of the noticeable changes is an increased emphasis on the state of Illinois.

After landing Lemont, IL tight end Logan Christopherson to its 2017 class, the Tigers will now host four-star defensive tackle Verdis Brown for the program’s first ‘Night at the Zou’ camp next Saturday.

A 2018 prospect, Brown currently holds offers from Missouri, Illinois, Florida State and Toledo. He’s recently camped at Notre Dame and took an unofficial visit to Ohio State.

Aside from defensive end, Brown also plays offensive guard and with his 6-foot-4 290 pound frame, colleges are projecting him on both sides of the ball.

With the option to play on either side of the ball in college, Brown has spent the summer working on techniques for both positions.

“I’ve been working on run-block and pass-block a lot,” he said.

Brown is aware of Missouri’s long tradition of putting defensive lineman in the NFL and its recent trend of offensive lineman getting drafted, which is why he has a lot of interest in the Tigers program.

“I know their football program is excellent and the academics are also excellent,” he told PowerMizzou.com. “They’re a very competitive school both athletic wise and academic wise.”

Missouri offensive coordinator Josh Heupel is the main recruiter for Brown, who plays for Mount Carmel High School, one of the most prestigious high school programs in the state of Illinois.

The Chicago native said he’s not a very vocal player and shies away from trash talking on the field. He just tries to do his job.

“I’m a very calm player,” he said. “I don’t talk a lot of stuff I don’t let people get in my head. I let my actions show.”

Off the field, Brown is big into computers and website development and already plans to major in computer science in college. He has started a lot of his own websites and had his own job helping others create websites of their own.

Only a sophomore, Brown said he wants to take his time with the recruiting process and doesn’t plan on committing until National Signing Day of his senior year.

PowerMizzou.com will continue to follow the recruitment of Brown over the coming years and will provide updates whenever they are available.