Julian Pearl signs with Illinois

Julian Pearl signed with Illinois on Wednesday in the first day of the Early Signing Period.

The 6-foot-7, 247-pound prospect was originally committed to play for Northern Illinois prior to flipping his commitment to Illinois. Pearl is an offensive lineman.

A native of Danville, Illinois, Pearl also is the center on his school’s basketball team, proving he has loads of athleticism that Lovie Smith and his staff will be able to tap into.

Pearl got some nice praise on Jeremy Werner’s radio show Tuesday morning from 247 recruiting analyst Allen Trieu.

Pearl was marginally un-recruited early on. He has definitely come on strong since then, raising himself to the No. 6 OT in Illinois, per 247. He is a brick wall on the offensive line, getting off the line quickly and moving well to set the edge when he pulls.

Pearl is also very strong on the offensive line. This may be a trait exaggerated by the level of competition he was put up against, but he certainly looks the part. Pearl is a great addition to this class and will add some much needed depth to this offensive line.

Pearl, unlike so many high-ranked recruits, is not an avid user of Twitter. Usually we’re able to learn about these high schoolers through their online accounts, but Pearl seems to be keeping a low profile with only seven tweets and 100 followers on his account.

Continue following The Champaign Room for breaking news coverage of Illinois during the Early Signing Period.