S-S-S-Siiiigning Day!

Quite a day.

A few late additions - Darrius Caldwell from Atlanta and Jon Davis from Louisville - to an already strong nucleus of quality players, including the above-pictured Reilly O'Toole, give Ron Zook a promising 2011 recruiting class.

The consensus among the recruiting sites, mainstream media, and bloggers is that Zook's class, while not one of the top rated in the country, fills a lot of the Illini needs and adds depth at every position.

The Illini have a great opportunity to win in 2011 with 8 home games, including their first five games of the season. They no longer play Mizzou and could be 5-0 before their first real challenge. Hopefully some of these freshmen will contribute to the cause.

Everything's Coming Up Zooker!

Or at least I hope it is.

Tomorrow is signing day in the world of college football. Based on the list of players who have committed to play for the Illini, the Zooker's class ranks in the middle-to-lower half of the Big Ten. About 30th to 40th nationally depending on what recruiting site put together the rankings.

But why would anyone, let alone the Zooker, care about rankings? What's more important is getting coachable atheletes into the program that Petrino and Koenning and the boys can mold into stellar beasts.

A few recruits I'll be excited about when they send in their LOI's tomorrow include:

- Tony Durkin, a 6'3" 270 pound C from Tinley Park Andrew outside Chicago;

- Ralph Cooper, a mean-looking middle linebacker prospect from the great state of South Carolina;

- Reilly O'Toole, the QB who led Wheaton Warrenville South to two state championships; and

- Donovonn Young, an underrated running back prospect out of Katy, Texas.

I'm also real excited for Jordan Frysinger, an unheralded prospect out of Corning, New York who spent most of his high school career playing lacrosse and was not many (any?) recruiters' radar. I like him because I think Corning Incorporated, based in Corning, New York, is a solid company worth your investing dollars. But I also like him because you know who else was an unheralded prospect from upstate New York?

Jimmer Fredette.

I'm just saying.

Reilly O'Toole ... Future Illini QB

Reilly O'Toole of Wheaton Warrenville South is the newest Illini QB recruit.

Putting aside that the kid has a choice quarterback name straight out of 1960's middle America, Reilly has all the trappings of a potential stellar QB. He's 6'4", accurate, led his high school team to the Illinois 7A state title last season and has solid all-around athleticism.

As a testament to his athleticism, take this write-up on the '09-'10 DuPage All-Area Boys' Basketball Team:

"Hitting a game-winner against Walther Lutheran and scoring 31 against Naperville Central, the 6-foot-3 all-DuPage Valley sophomore thrived taking over games. O'Toole hit 78 3s on 41 percent shooting, averaging 13 points and 3 boards. "He has a very high athletic IQ," coach Mike Healy said."

Nice. A kid who can toss the pigskin downfield with accuracy, and drain threes at will.

Welcome to the Illini.