CHAMPAIGN — Julian Pearl certainly looks the part already. The Danville native has bulked up — big time — with his latest weigh-in last Wednesday putting him right at 300 pounds.
The position switch explains it. Pearl spent his redshirt freshman season on the Illinois defensive line. It was his choice. Entering his college career, he'd rather chase quarterbacks than protect them, and the then 6-foot-6, 250-pound reserve defensive end made it into two games and made his first career tackle at Nebraska.
But Pearl was recruited as a multi-positional player. One of those spots was offensive tackle — Illini coach Lovie Smith's preference and where Pearl finds himself now.