Prep school tackle talks commitment
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The Fighting Illini picked up their second football commitment in as many days on Monday when 6-foot-5, 285 pound offensive Peter Cvijanovic pledged to Illinois.
Cvijanovic , the brother of current Illinois tackle Simon Cvijanovic, is a 2013 graduate of Cleveland Benedictine High School. He is spending the fall semester at East Coach Prep in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Cvijanovic will enroll at Illinois in January and participate in spring drills.
"The decision to go to Illinois for me personally was an obvious one," Cvijanovic said. "My brother is there, and I would love to play football with him. I have never gotten to play football with my brother. He was a senior in high school when I was a freshman."
Illinois now has 14 commitments in the class of 2014. Cvijanovic is the second offensive lineman in the class, joining Nick Allegretti from Frankfort (Ill.) Lincoln-Way East.
Cvijanovic likely projects as a right offensive tackle at Illinois. A solid athlete, he has bulked up from 232 pounds as a high school junior two seasons ago.
"I didn't want to go into college and be underweight," Cvijanovic said. "I play left tackle at East Coast Prep. My season has been going pretty well. I haven't gone against a guy who has been physically dominant."
Illinois offensive line coach AJ Ricker recuited Cvijanovic, who received his offer on Monday and committed later the same day.
"Throughout high school I thought I would be going to the Big Ten, but I never got that offer," Cvijanovic said. "So as soon as I got the offer from Illinois I decided I wanted to go there. Simon talks to me a lot about Coach Ricker. He says he is a great guy and he got the offensive line to jell together. Coach Ricker is a real honest guy and is up front with you."