Lovie Smith and the Illini received a huge commitment on Sunday afternoon.

Reuben Unije, an offensive tackle out of IMG Academy, tweeted his commitment to Illinois, becoming the 16th member of the 2018 class. He made his announcement via Twitter.

While the three-star offensive lineman is big in size — he stands 6-foot-5, 303 pounds — the larger impact might be that Smith has planted a flag in the fertile IMG Academy grounds, rich with football talent.

Unije is the second-best prospect in Illinois’ recruiting class behind only four-star defensive tackle Calvin Avery.

The Illini currently rank 14th in the B1G with the 2018 recruiting class and No, 57 in the nation. Unije is ranked as a top 500 player according to 247Sports.

Unije had 25 offers, most of those coming out of the SEC. He had just two offers out of the B1G, Illinois and Maryland. He chose to commit to the Illini over offers from Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma and TCU.