CU,

I expect Illinois to be right at 85 scholarships when today's class is finished. By my count, they had about 66-68 players returning on scholarship. You'd expect attrition to knock that number down a few, as transfers are common when a new staff comes into place. We could also see things shake out after spring ball when the depth chart becomes a little more clear.

Last year, we didn't know how the scholarship numbers would fit and work out. That's not a problem this year.

I don't expect any "filling in the blanks" unless a perfect situation arises. And that'd have to be something weird, because pretty much everyone worth being a high-major player is planning on signing today. If there is an open scholarship or two, it'd likely go to a walk-on who works hard and contributes -- a la Eddie Viliunas last year, if I recall correctly.

Urban,

You should really look harder at my Twitter @cwesterlund5, read the start of this chat or see the link here. We haven't made this difficult.

Illini,

As of 8:37 a.m., the main letters Illinois was still waiting on were Teko Powell and Vontrell Williams, two DTs who had verballed. Williams was supposed to have a ceremony at school this morning and send in his letter, so no worries there. Powell is a little more up in the air, simply because he reportedly was still looking at West Virginia.

Also, DTs Vincent Valentine (Edwardsville, Ill.) and Terrell Jackson (Columbus, Ohio) had Illinois as finalists and were expected to announce later today. I like the Illini's chances better with Valentine.

Eric,

Last I heard, CB Anthony Standifer was going to wait until after signing day to declare and sign. So not expecting much there. Valentine's chances are decent for Illinois. I'm told it's a true toss-up between Illini and Nebraska.

Dave,

I really don't know the backstory. I was surprised by that too. We will ask Beckman about him at today's presser. Intersting too that tight end is a place that's not a need for Illinois. Jon Davis is dangerous and, I think, ready for a breakout season. Evan Wilson is solid, and Eddie Viliunas is a strong blocker. Matt LaCosse has some athleticism too. Lots of competition and differing styles of players at that position. That tells me the staff really liked something about Rhodes.

Marty,

FYI all, Marty is referring to DT Terrell Jackson of Columbus (Ohio) Marion-Franklin. He had Illinois as a finalist but instead chose Pitt.

As the recruitment went along, I thought Illinois had a solid chance, especially when Michigan State was taken out of the picture. But I'm not surprised by this decision. The Illinois coaches didn't have a great feeling late in the game on this one, and Jackson has a great relationship with new Pitt coach Paul Chryst and another member of his staff, who were recruiting him when they were still at Wisconsin.

This is a miss for Illinois, no doubt. It's a kid who is in a prime Beckman recruiting territory (Ohio) and who, by all accounts, liked the Illini. They also weren't going against a powerhouse in the Panthers of Pitt. But this is what happens when you have a late start, so there's no reason to dwell on this one. Initial impressions and the one visit kids get mean so much when you have a short period of time to recruit. Such a hard position to be in for the new staff.

Illinois still got the most important DT they could have -- Teko Powell of Miami Norland. Huge pick-up in my mind, and Vontrell William's fax should be coming in shortly. So it's good showing at DT that could get better if Vincent Valentine goes for Illinois when he announces later today. That'd be a very good DT class, if Valentine chooses the Illini.

Steve,

Sorry posted your question and then got sidetracked and didn't answer. So it's a little out of order.

But no, Butkus didn't secure any commitments out of Chicago -- nor do anyone else on the staff really, with the exception of getting Lincoln-Way West's B.J. Bello. Let's be realistic, you can't go in that late and expect to do much.

But Chicago will be a primary recruiting area for Butkus. And like the other assistants, he has been working on the 2013 class a lot as well.

I'm not putting much stock into judging the staff on the 2012 class because of the late start. And I'm not putting any stock into judging an individual coach yet based off anything. We can start judging in a year.

Luke,

Not sure what the deal is with Elliot Faerber, but yes, you did understand correctly what Kent Brown said. And they're doing a great job over there in their live chat. Check it out if you havne't on fightingillini.com.

Haven't been any rumblings or news out of Faerber camp, though we'll keep trying to find out. So yes, it does look like there's just one WR in this class in J.J. Robertson. Athlete Justin Hardee is expected to be a defensive back.

It's a weird situation trying to find out what happens with Faerber. Because Beckman can't talk about him, unless he signs elsewhere today. And even then, he probably wouldn't talk about him. And if news doesn't come from Faerber's side, it's hard to find out. Reminds me of the Hunter Wells situation from last year. The OL from Canton was a long-time verbal commitment then didn't sign. Think it was academics, but never heard Wells' side of the full story.

illini.

You're right, he sure did sign. If you ever get a chance to say hi to Vontrell, do so. He's a joy to talk to, always has a smile on his face, will probably talk your ear off. Really took it to heart to stay in-state. Not sure if he's an immediate contributor, but I expect he'll be a hard worker and find his way into the roation as he gets bigger, faster, stronger at Illinois.

Peter,

If it did, I'm taking MSU's Branden Dawson with the first pick. Or trading my future No. 1s to get the top pick. He was a man.

J,

I'd lean toward going with your last point -- taking the best kids left at positions of need, regardless of the holes in their game.

You can see Illinois took six defensive backs because that's an area where there are questions after Terry Hawthorne and Justin Green graduate following the 2012 season. Several of those DBs aren't the most heralded players and/or didn't have big offers. So you could say that talent evaluators and/or high-major college coaches somewhere saw areas of defiencies.

The staff made due with the best they could. As a whole, I don't expect this class to be a real difference-maker. There will be difference-making individuals, but the quality depth isn't there. So you hope some of the less heralded players turn out to be a diamond in the rough, then build a real foundation with the 2013 class.

John B,

Michael Martin of Champaign Centennial will join the team as a committed walk-on. He's a long snapper. Other than him, I don't know of anyone in the area going D-I. We'll know more about walk-ons next week, so stay tuned there.

Salt,

Illinois has 19 signees and is waiting on one recruit: DT Vincenet Valentine of Edwardsville, Ill. He's supposed to announce at early afternoon press conference. So you got to be patient there. It's truly a toss-up with Valentine, I was told. Nebraska also in the mix.

Don't expect any other last-minute changes or surprises. And yes, Faerber and Warburg seem out of the picture.

Anon,

That's incorrect. ESPN had a typo earlier if that was the case. Haven't checked recently, but Tyler Nero is not part of this class.

Steve,

There's no chance Terry Hawthorne stops playing defense, I'll tell you that. He's the team's best corner. As of now at least, I doubt you'll see him on offense at all. Tried that when he was younger; defense went a whole lot better.

Looks to me like Lamontiez Ivy ended up at Jackson State. I just don't know what position he would have played here. He wasn't a good enough QB to play a guy like O'Toole on the depth chart, I don't think. And that's where he played for ESL. Staff did host him for a visit though and stay in touch. So they are paying attention to that program, that's for sure.

Anon,

He's talking about DT Terrell Jackson choosing Pitt over Illinois today. I'm totally aware of that and understand Pitt was in the same boat. That's what I also specifically wrote that Jackson was a recruiting "miss" for the Illini. I think that's fair to say.

I was (partially) referring to the fact that you just don't know what's going to happen when you have a late start. You jump in on kids you weren't really on at all before (T.J. Neal, for example, who was largely ignored by Ron Zook) and get a commitment, then jump in on another and don't secure a pledge (Jackson). Hard to read what a kid will do when you've met them once in person and haven't known them for more than a month.

Kazoo kid,

Joey Warburg, the OL from Louisville Trinity, flipped his commitment to Purdue, according to Jody Demling of the Courier-Journal. Interesting there. You got to like a player who comes from a powerhouse program like Trinity with good coaching and success.

Anon,

I respect all the recruiting sites that rank players, and it's a great tool. Most of the time, they're right (look who is winning national titles and try to tell me otherwise), so I do put a solid degree of stock in the rankings. But as you mentioned, players can fly under the radar.

Why do players fly under the radar? In football, it can often be because they don't have as great of physical capabilities as other players -- in other words, their "measurables" aren't as good. These players don't have as much potential, at least in high school when colleges have to make these decisions.

But you have to understand, we're splitting some hairs here in many ways. If Player A is a little stronger and faster than Player B but lacks the ability to identify the progression of a play as quickly, Player B is going to be the one in the right spot and have the opportunity to make just as many plays, probably more. And sometimes that's hard to judge. So it's not surprising that a less-touted recruit can develop and be great here.

Who in this class could be a under the radar? I think TaJarvis Fuller could be a good one. Could end up at that star position or safety, but he has good wheels and a knack for making plays. I'm not going out on a huge limb there, because he is in the top half of the team's player rankings. But he hasn't been talked about as much as some guys; he committed in June, stuck to his word even after Zook was fired and just went about his business. He's already enrolled, so he will also have a head start with spring ball.

Ask me the same question later after I'm able to talk to the coaches more and I'll have a few more players for you who could be under the radar.

Lionel,

The two biggest areas of need I see: the secondary and wide receiver.

Why? With the graduation of A.J. Jenkins, there are no proven wideouts. You need a big-time playmaker there, espeically if you're going to run a spread offense. Makes things a lot easier, so WR is a priority moving forward. Maybe someone on the roster develops, but you still need to recruit a game-changing WR either way if you're going to run a spread.

The secondary will be thin after the graduation of Justin Green, Supo Sanni and Terry Hawthorne following 2012 season. Very thin, and neither Valdon Cooper nor Eaton Spence have any experience really. Beckman and the staff realized that -- that's why you see six DBs committed in this 2012 class.

But just getting a player to commit doesn't mean anything. They still have to prove themselves, so I think that's still a real need until we're proved otherwise.

I was looking last night at how the future roster stacks up. I think LB is a strength. T.J. Neal is a good get with a bright future, and you have to more in the LB duo from Ohio. Houston Bates is a young guy who's had bright flashes, and I know Vic Koenning was always high on Ralph Cooper and Henry Dickinson. So that's not a need.

I also like the core of offensive linemen that Illinois got in the 2011 class. Some quality there, a couple should step up in time.

Honestly, I think the staff did the "best they could." Addressed DB with strength in numbers. Also were smart in realizing that they weren't going to get a great WR in starting late, and there were already 14-15 WRs on the roster, so it wasn't worth adding one just to add one.

One last question before we wrap this up. Joey Warburg, an OL from Louisville Trinity, signed with Purdue after originally committing to Illinois. Coach Tim Beckman indicated that was on Warburg's end, saying the youngster continued looking around and visiting schools. The staff knew that one was coming.

Elliot Faerber was a WR from Shawnee Mission in Kansas who pledged last March but didn't end up signing today. When asked, Beckman said his situation was similar to Warburg's but didn't elaborate. I don't think it's quite the same situation. Warburg had visited Purdue and Arkansas; he had other suitors on him and a Plan B (maybe Plan A in his eyes) to turn to today. We haven't heard from the Faerber camp, so not sure what the details are there. But as of this evening, I hadn't seen him as having signed anywhere. And to my knowledge, he hadn't shown interest in visiting other schools. He seemed firm in his word, so it's kind of weird. Already some speculation of him ending up elsewhere; it's just that -- speculation -- still, but it was a school involved that was far smaller on the college football pecking order. Which is why this is odd.

We'll have to wait for this to play out, then hear Faerber's side of the story hopefully.