Missouri hosts Illinois junior lineman

Peoria (Ill.) Manual offensive tackle Logan Tuley-Tillman picked up his first college offer over the summer, and has seen interest increase after his play this fall. Missouri is one of those teams showing interest, and Tuley-Tillman was in Columbia recently.

"This past weekend I was at the Mizzou-Texas game," Tuley-Tillman said. "It was electric and the whole stadium is great. I really liked the visit all-around. The coaches there were so just so humble, honest and forthcoming. They really want to know me as a person, not just what I can do for them on the field."

Missouri is one of several BCS schools showing interest in the 6-7, 280-pound Tuley-Tillman. Others include Arkansas, Boston College, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Notre Dame and Tennessee, but Indiana beat them all to the punch and extended Tuley-Tillman his first scholarship offer this past summer.

"I went to their linemen camp, and before I left Coach [Greg] Frey told me about it," Tuley-Tillman said. "It was more motivation to me. I always knew I had a potential to play, and it made me want to work even harder because it showed me where I could end up one day."

This past season, Tuley-Tillman started at both offensive tackle and defensive line for Peoria Manual. He registered 38 pancake blocks on offense, and though he has experience playing both lines, he would prefer to stay on offense long term.

"That's really what I want to play in college," Tuley-Tillman said. "Defense is okay, but it's not my forte. I've been playing o-line since I was little."

Tuley-Tillman has played basketball in the past, but will forego his junior season on the hardcourt to focus on his development in football. He also plans to use the next several months to see more schools, with additional game day visits planned in the coming two weekends.

"I still am deciding which one I will head to this weekend," Tuley-Tillman said. "I might head to the night game at Tennessee or the one at Michigan. It may be the Wisconsin-Illinois game, I haven't really decided yet."

Tuley-Tillman is also still deciding which game he will attend Thanksgiving weekend, but is leaning toward seeing the Wisconsin-Penn State matchup in Madison.