Sands heads to Big Ten

Boyertown (Pa.) Boyertown Area Senior offensive tackle Tyler Sands visited more than 10 schools before coming to his decision on Friday. In the end it came down to a choice between the ACC and the Big Ten. The 6-foot-5, 290-pounder accounced his choice and he'll be heading to the Midwest to play college football.

"I committed to Illinois," said Sands, who chose the Illini over Boston College. "It just came down to feeling more comfortable at Illinois. I kind of knew it on my visit there. I could picture myself there for four or five years. I liked Boston College a lot as well, but I felt better about the situation and felt closer to coach Wolford than to any other coach I dealt with."

Sands was recruited by Illinois offensive line coach Eric Wolford.

"He's a great coach and he and I really hit it off," he said. "I also already have a good friend up there in Graham Pocic. He reached out to me on the Internet even before he made his decision and we started talking about what we wanted in a school. Once he committed to Illinois, he turned up the heat on me. They want me to play right guard to his right tackle so we can be on the same side of the line."

Sands thinks the future is bright at Illinois.

"They're re-building and I think the last few recruiting classes have been loaded so things will turn around quickly. I like what's going on out there."

Sands is ranked as the No. 34 offensive tackle in the country and the No. 16 player in Pennsylvania. In addition to BC, he had offers from Georgia Tech, Pitt, Virginia, Wisconsin and others.