After not signing on the first day of the early signing period, five-star center Jeremiah Tilmon has officially signed with Illinois.

Tilmon held a press conference at East Saint Louis High School today to announce his decision.

“We are thrilled to officially welcome Jeremiah to the Illini family,” Illinois head coach John Groce said in a statement. “He has been a top priority for our program for a number of years. Jeremiah has tremendous size, talent and skill. He is a dominant big with unlimited potential.”

For Illinois, this is a huge sigh of relief after rumors began to surface. Illinois was left in the dark for a few days when Tilmon did not initially sign on Nov. 9. Some analysts speculated that Tilmon might be considering Saint Louis or Kansas.

Tilmon’s mother made a statement to the IlliniInquirer.com on Nov. 12 in regards to her son not signing on the first possible day of the early period.

“Just because Jeremiah hasn’t signed in the early period doesn’t mean he’s not committed to Illinois. Jeremiah has a lot of things going on behind the scenes that take precedence over signing ad new do apologize for the commotion.”

The meaning of the delayed commitment is unclear, but Tilmon is now officially an Illini.

This commitment officially solidifies head coach John Groce’s class of 2017. Tilmon is the fourth recruit to sign a National Letter of Intent with Illinois.

With Tilmon on board, Illinois will most likely keep its spot as the No. 10 recruiting class on 247sports.com and No. 9 class on ESPN.

Tilmon is the No. 25 best player in the nation on 247sports.com and at 6-foot-10 gives Illinois a strong presence in the post.

Groce now has two more scholarships available for the class of 2017.

Matt is a Junior in Business

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@MattGertsmeier