PEORIA (HOI) -- He grew up just a seven-minute walk from Peoria Stadium. He was a standout, multi-sport athlete at Peoria High. He went on to star as a stud offensive lineman at the University of Illinois. Kendrick Green bleeds Peoria and he bleeds Illinois, now he's about ready to represent both in the NFL.
Green isn't your everyday football player. He's a beast. Standing at 6-foot-2, 305 pounds, Green is strong, quick and incredibly smart. All of those skills made him an All-American at the University of Illinois before making the decision this past December to declare for the NFL Draft.
KENDRICK GREEN, FORMER PEORIA HIGH AND ILLINI STANDOUT
"Honestly it comes down to betting on yourself at the end of the day, you know?" Green said. "Stand ten toes and put your neck out. That's how I looked at it. I feel like I was ready for it and I think I made the right decision."
Since making the decision to declare back in December, Green has taken part in one of the most unique pre-draft processes we've ever seen.
"You've got a lot of stuff to do and everything counts and you want to put your best foot forward at all times to every team," Green said. "It was definitely stressful but I think I crushed it and I'm excited for where I'm at."
Green showed out at his Illinois Pro Day, wowing scouts with a 4.85-second 40-yard draft, a performance that sent him shooting up draft boards.
"I had kind of had some interviews here and there before pro day while I was down training," Green said. "But then after pro day, everybody was just like 'boom, boom, boom' and I kind of got a little bit of buzz going into the draft."
But working toward this dream didn't start in December and it didn't start at Pro Day. It started in the River City and at Peoria Stadium where Kendrick played his high school games with the Peoria High Lions. Green made the trip back to Peoria Stadium last week and says it felt a bit surreal to be back.
"Absolutely. It kind of feels smaller," Green said. "I don't know why but then again, you know, the dip's still in the field and the stands and everything are just how I left it too, but it's definitely a little different."
Green was Mr. Everything at Peoria High. He was Homecoming King. He was a wrestler. He was a baseball player. But above all else, he was a dominant force on the football field and a leader for a string of uber-talented Lions teams, one of which won a state title.
"His leadership is contagious," Green's high school coach, Tim Thornton said. "His toughness is contagious and he just has a good habit of making everyone around him better."
Green was an immediate starter for the Lions and his coaches knew right away that he had the potential to be something special.
"Just his willingness to do the things that everybody else wouldn't," Thornton said. "He was a three-sport athlete and he'd show up in uniform in the offseason with a baseball uniform on, getting his sets in, getting his lifts in and just his willingness to go above and beyond."
In his time at Peoria High, Kendrick blossomed from a young player with potential to a four-star recruit and he says Coach Thornton was a big reason why.
"Coach Thornton, man, that's my boy," Green said. "He kind of put it in perspective, the things I could do. I never really thought about it. I always dreamed about going Division I, going to the NFL, but Coach Thornton kind of took those dreams and said, 'Hey, like this is a real possibility.' like work hard and then the sky's the limit."
Even though Green is on the verge of NFL stardom, don't for a second think he's going to forget about Peoria.
"It's home, it's always gonna be home," Green said. "When I go out of town and tell people where I'm from and stuff like that, they're like, 'you're from Chicago?' Like no, I'm from Peoria."
And his coach knows that he's got what it takes to make an immediate impact at the next level.
"I think he's gonna go somewhere and he's gonna make somebody better," Thornton said. "I don't think it's just gonna be a survival thing. I think he'll have an immediate impact on a locker room or a meeting room, position room and I'm excited to see where he goes."
And as Green takes the next step in his career, he's got a big goal in mind.
"I feel like when it's all said and done, I want to be the best player to ever come from here," Green said. "That's my goal, you know."
And everyone is excited to see his dream finally realized
"I've been a Bear fan for my whole life but I feel like after this weekend, I'll be rooting for more than one team," Thornton said.
Day two of the NFL Draft begins Friday night at 6:00 p.m. on Heart of Illinois ABC. Green is projected to be picked at some point from the second to fourth rounds of the draft.
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DRAFT DREAMS: Peoria High's Kendrick Green ready to make NFL dreams come true - HOI ABC
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