Zook credits coaching overhaul with recruiting bounty
When Illinois lost nine games last fall, it hampered coach Ron Zook's ability to lure his customary highly-rated recruiting class.
When Illinois fired four coaches shortly after that 3-9 season (and former co-defensive coordinator Curt Mallory left for Akron), it severed a few recruiting relationships.
But when Zook went out and hired a fistful of coaches - including offensive coordinator Paul Petrino and defensive coordinator Vic Koenning - it opened up brave new recruiting worlds for the Illini.
The net result? Illinois hit Chicago and Florida as hard as usual, but rounded out its 20-man class with recruits from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Virginia and other untapped motherlodes.
"I think the (coaching) overhaul helped us positively," Zook said. "The staff that was here obviously continued right on with where we were, but (the new coaches) gave us a whole new list of names.
"You try to get into areas where you know some people and it opened up some new areas for us ... no question in my mind, this is as good a recruiting staff as I've been around."
That having been said, the recruiting gurus don't appreciate Illinois' group.
Rivals.com ranked the Illini eighth in the Big Ten - one spot ahead of Northwestern - while Scout.com put the Illini two spots behind the Wildcats in 10th place.
"This class is going to surprise a lot of people down the road," Zook said.
Illinois went in reverse on signing day when Proviso East safety Corey Cooper, a four-star recruit who had been committed since his sophomore year, finally revealed his long-speculated switch to Big 12 champ Nebraska.
Three-star offensive tackle Dan Foose waited until Wednesday morning to renege on his recent commitment in order to sign with Florida State. Illinois was a finalist for Kentucky running back Miles Simpson, but he chose to stay home.
On the other hand, Illinois picked up late commitments from a pair of Floridians: DE Brandon Denmark (Tallahassee) and WR Darius Millines (Delray Beach).
Millines, who committed originally to West Virginia, gave Illinois a total of five pass-catchers in this class for freshman quarterbacks Chandler Whitmer (Downers Grove South) and Miles Osei (Prospect).
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Whitmer, who enrolled in January, is regarded as the lone four-star recruit in the class. He's an accurate drop-back passer who fits Petrino's style well.
"Every time I'm in the office, he's in the office watching tape," Zook said.
Illinois recruited Whitmer with a promise that he'd be the only new quarterback, but Petrino wanted another. Before the Illini offered Osei, who's more of a dual-threat, Zook called Whitmer and hoped he'd accept the extra competition.
"(Osei) has got a chance to be a special guy as well," Zook said.
Illinois might not be done with this class. Zook suggested he could round out the group with a few more recruits in the next week or two.
"We lost a couple today," he said, "but I'm excited about where we are and what we got."