Ron Zook’s final day on the 2009 recruiting trail began before sunrise on Wednesday morning.

Pacing around the Illinois football office, his eyes constantly shifting to and from the fax machine, the head coach tried to heed the advice of the staff.

“They were telling me to relax at about a quarter to six this morning,” Zook said.

The national letters of intent began rolling in just 15 minutes later, beginning with the signed scholarship offer of interior lineman Andrew Carter – one of five Scout.com four-star recruits to commit to the Illini.

This year’s class is eight players short of Zook’s 2008 haul; he attributed that to a shortage of scholarships. If nothing else, the coach was impressed with the efficiency with which this year’s class was assembled.

“In the last two years, with as many people as we’ve signed, I would guess we’ve had less official visits than anyone else in the country,” Zook said. “We didn’t bring in a lot of people. You want to know how recruiting’s going, you bring in the amount of people that we brought in, and get the number of players that we did, that percentage is better than any place I’ve ever been.”

Spanning seven states and the District of Columbia, 11 skill players and nine lineman will join the Illini roster next season. Among them will be Terry Hawthorne, the top wide receiver in the country according to Parade Magazine, and Justin Green, the No. 1 prospect in the state of Kentucky.

“It’s a pretty good class. It’s a very athletic class,” national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming said. “They addressed their needs at wide receiver. You’ve got a very good quarterback coming in; it’s a very good overall class.”

Perhaps the most intriguing and athletic of Zook’s signees is the ‘quarterback’ Lemming spoke of: Nathan Scheelhaase – a SuperPrep All-American from Kansas City, Mo.

“I sat down here myself and watched him with my own eyes jump 42 inches. He is a great athlete, he really is, from a great program,” Zook said.

Scheelhaase was lured away from an offer by the University of Iowa, where his father, Nate Creer, was a three-year starter on the football team.

The Illini coaching staff also had to contend with familial ties when it came to Green, whose brother, Marcus, played defensive line for Ohio State from 2002-05.

“He had a lot of pressure to go to Ohio State,” Zook said. “But in his heart this is what he wanted to do.”

Green is listed on most scouting sites as a top-rated cornerback, which befuddled Zook.

“Who’s to say he’s a defensive back? We never felt that way. I’m a defensive coach, I’m not saying he can’t play. He’s a running back.”

Rounding out Illinois’ collection of four-star talent was Chicago-native Lendell Buckner, a defensive tackle who Lemming ranked No. 21 nationally at defensive tackle.

Buckner, or “Buck” as he is commonly called, joined his Leo Catholic High School teammate Leon Hill in signing with the Illini on Wednesday.

When asked about how he went about selecting his 2009 targets, Zook cited a very thorough process of evaluation that has him satisfied with the talent he and his coaching staff were able to assemble.

“This class, in our opinion, we don’t have the quantity, but the quality,” Zook said. “You start stacking class on top of classes, and then you get your program to where you want it to be, and you’re able to compete in the Big Ten Conference.”

Lemming also sees promise in a group that may not have the flash and glamour of the 2007 version, which garnered former-five-star recruits Arrelious Benn and Martez Wilson.

However, Lemming did cite the loss of former offensive coordinator and current University of New Mexico head coach Mike Locksley and the team’s 5-7 record a season ago as influential factors in how the class ultimately rounded out.

“The effort was there, the results were a little less than the last couple of years mainly because they didn’t have a great year on the field preceded by a great year,” Lemming said. “Also losing a few coaches, particularly Mike Locksley, at a very important time, which would have been recruiting time, (hurt them).

“They didn’t have that push this year like they did before with the bowl game.”

With his newest class of true freshmen preparing to make their way to campus in the fall, Zook was optimistic about the future, if not slightly giddy.

“I haven’t felt this feeling since the Rose Bowl year,” Zook said. “I’m ready to go to Rantoul right now.”