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Signed, sealed ... Football recruiting climaxes Wednesday - signing day.

Article Excerpt
Byline: Adam Rittenberg Daily Herald Sports Writer

In a communication age charged by BlackBerrys and text messages, the practice of letter writing is widely considered passe.

But during the college football recruiting rush, the letter carries supreme value and anticipation, its contents determining a program's future.

The wait ends Wednesday - national signing day - when mailbags are unloaded and 117 Division I-A coaches reveal a stack of national letters of intent, signed and sealed by their newest recruits.

Coaching shake-ups at 22 schools again weighed heavily on the recruiting season. Illinois and Notre Dame were among the programs dealing with change, while longer-tenured staffs at Iowa, Tennessee, Southern Cal and Michigan enjoyed tremendous success.

"In recruiting, it's not over until that last piece of paper comes across," new Illinois coach Ron Zook said. "You can't relax."

Here is an early look at how the local teams fared in recruiting. (Note: coaches were prohibited from discussing specific recruits until signing day, but they could comment generally about the process.)

Illinois

Each year, college coaches go through the actual football season, followed by the recruiting season from late November until signing day. Zook's track record in the second season proved to be the deciding factor in his hiring.

So how did Zook fare in his first go-round at Illinois? The true answer might not be known until next February.

"They did listen and gave us...

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