Eric,

Here's two important in-state defensive players to keep an eye on: S Jalen Banks of Harvey Thornton and CB Darius Mosely of O'Fallon. Both players have Illinois offers, as well as a few other offers. Here's why these two players are significant, outside of being in-state guys: The secondary may be Illinois' weakest position entering the 2013 season. CBs Terry Hawthorne and Justin Green will graduate, as will S Supo Sanni. Steve Hull should still be around, but the younger secondary players haven't received much, if any, playing time yet. They're all unproven.

And yes, I know the 2013 season is a long way off and anyone can come on strong before then. But that's a concern right now, no doubt, making players like Banks and Mosely more important.

The premier in-state talent tends to lean toward the offensive side of the ball. For other defenders to take note of now early in the process, I'd look to Ohio, which you know the staff will recruit hard. S Marcus McWilson and DE Matt Miller are a couple players from Ohio the staff is taking a good look at.

Dennis,

Lots to address here, so hang with me.

Illinois is recruiting those top players -- RB Ty Isaac, WR Laquon Treadwell, OL Ethan Pocic -- hard. Some other in-state names for you to keep an eye on: OT Colin McGovern (Lincoln-Way West), OG Colin Goebel (Naperville North), QB Aaron Bailey (Bolingbrook), DE Khairi Bailey (Morgan Park), TE Nathan Marcus (Glenbard West), S Jalen Banks (Harvey Thornton), CB Darius Mosely (O'Fallon), LB Reggie Spearman (Simeon).

Those are just some of the names. They are and will be more. Chances with those players? I don't have the time -- nor do the players or staff even know yet on many of them -- to go through every person. I tend to take the middle ground on this though. Because of the emphasis I've seen this staff place in-state and the feedback I've received, I believe they will get a better in-state haul than Zook did this past year(s). But I don't think they're going to get as many premier in-state players as they think. (Paraphrasing) I've heard Tim Beckman preface a statement with "If we can get the top X guys in state, that'd be a really good foundation." So the staff believes it can potentially get most every player. That won't happen, but it's good to dream big. Vic Koenning (still love his wit) was the one who said all the time last year, "Shoot for the stars, you just might reach the moon." (I think that was it.)

I've heard great things about Luke Butkus recruiting, for what it's worth. And it's been unprompted by several high school coaches bringing it up to me, so that's somewhat telling. I'll have more on him next week.

Kyle,

The current state of Illinois basketball doesn't bode well for getting big-time recruits. For so long, I was asked questions like, "What will it take for Illinois to get Jabari Parker?" Most of the time, the answer came back to one thing: winning. Illinois isn't doing that right now, and that will hurt recruiting.

I think the current situation has the Illini in a standstill in recruiting. You haven't seen new offers go out recently or much action/talk of any sort. Just like the fans, the recruits are wondering as well what the future holds for Bruce Weber. Only it will affect them more than you; after all, they're the ones who have to choose to play for a head coach somewhere who will be their mentor for four years. You're just watching.

I don't know that the current situation is keeping anyone from committing to Illinois, because I don't know that anyone was really that close to committing to Illinois entering this season. The Illini already had their 2012 slot filled with Michael Orris and two 2013 commits in Jalen James and Malcolm Hill. The wait-and-see approach was being taken in regards to a player like Parker deciding and saving that scholarship, and the big men Illinois is after (Gavin Schilling and Devin Williams, to name a couple) don't appear in a rush to decide.

Kevin,

You're just as entitled to your opinion as those calling for Weber to be gone. Here's the one thing I ask you though: Illinois has had three solid recruiting classes in a row now, starting with the Paul/Richardson/Bertrand/Griffey class. Those are Weber's guys and the core of the team. Is he producing with those players? Not really, at least to the extent he or the fans view as acceptable.

And Illinois doesn't have a history of landing the big fish, the big-name recruit. So you're probably going to keep getting the types of players you're getting now. Outside of Jabari Parker, I don't see a 2013 recruit that's going to bail Illinois out. And it was going to be tough to land him to start with, and the chance grows smaller and smaller with each loss.

Here's my point: I don't see anyone on the recruiting trail bailing Illinois out in the near future, at least not with Weber's time frame. This has to get done with the players he has now, plus maybe Orris if Weber is coaching next year. You can't put faith in a coach because Jalen James and Malcolm Hill are coming and you might add another good 2013 player; you can hire a new coach if you want and hang onto those guys still.

The players on the team now are the key.

Illini,

I agree any of those players would be an important get. And you can throw Colin McGovern, OT from Lincoln-Way West on that list too. He's got endless offers, his coach told me. I asked offensive coordinator Chris Beatty the exact question you just asked me. He responded, "We have to be as accessible as possible." Now, you're probably going to say that's still a little vague, but here's the start of a blog I posted this week that shows you what they've done so far.

Hope these specific examples help:

"You’d be hard pressed thus far to find a stone left unturned by Illinois football coach Tim Beckman in his quest to take back the state on the recruiting trail.

Consider, in Beckman’s two months on the job: He went on a meet-and-greet to local high schools the week after he was hired, a grassroots campaign of sorts. He’s assigned three assistant coaches to recruit Chicago, plus himself. He’s assigned recruiting coordinator Alex Golesh to be responsible for the five counties surrounding Champaign, even if Division-I talent in East Central Illinois is few and far in between. Beckman hired and then recently raved about the importance of director of player personnel John Hauser, whose main tasks are to identify in-state talent and develop relationships with those schools. Beckman said he picked up the phone soon after he was hired and called the coaches of all the top in-state 2012 players, including committed ones, just to gauge if they had any last-minute interest in Illinois. What was supposed to be a smaller January junior day turned into Illinois hosting 26 recruits because, hey, Beckman loves them all."

There are a handful of examples in there. Illinois will host another big junior day later this month too.