Lovie Smith and Charles Tillman share fond memories together in the state of Illinois.

Tillman, a former Chicago Bears cornerback, was a staple of Lovie Smith’s defense during his NFL stint. Tillman and Smith spent nine years together in the Windy City, reaching the Super Bowl in 2007.

Tillman visited his ex-coach at Illinois practice on Tuesday:

Master of the "ball punch," Tillman forced 44 fumbles in the NFL and is the Bears’ all-time leader in interceptions. Perhaps he can inspire the Illinois defense to force a few more turnovers in 2016.

UPDATE:

A few days later, the Illini are practicing what Peanut preached.

Watch below as Illinois defenders try their hand at the move that made Tillman an NFL great:

Opposing running backs and receivers: beware.

 

 

Joe Boozell has been a college basketball writer for NCAA.com since 2015. His work has also appeared in Bleacher Report, FOXSports.com and NBA.com. Joe’s claim to fame since joining NCAA.com: he’s predicted the correct national championship game twice… and picked the wrong winner both times. Growing up, Joe squared off against both Anthony Davis and Frank Kaminsky in the Chicagoland basketball scene. You can imagine how that went.

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