Illinois Football Recruiting: Introducing the 2011 Signing Class

National Signing Day has come and gone.

Outside of any unexpected transfers or head coach firings, the table is set for the 2011 college football season.

The Illinois Fighting Illini, despite losing experienced impact players: Mikel Leshoure, Martez Wilson and Corey Liuget, hauled in the No. 42 ranked recruiting class, according to Rivals.

While the class is not loaded with the talent that makes fans say, “Damn he’s good,” Ron Zook recorded the largest class (27 recruits) in the Big Ten.

The class will not replace the talent that it is losing, but it will fill the holes left by the departing players.

Without further adieu, I present to you the 2011 recruiting class for the Fighting Illini…

Top Recruit No. 1—Dondi Kirby

Courtesy of rivals.com

The prize defensive recruit of this class is four-star defensive back Dondi Kirby.

He chose the Fighting Illini over Iowa, Maryland, USC and Florida.

Kirby missed his entire senior season due to an ACL tear that required surgery.

He has great size for a defensive back standing at 6’3” and weighing 180 pounds, with the potential to bulk up.

It is not clear what Zook’s plan is for Kirby, but he also has the potential to play wide receiver.

Assuming that he recovers well from his surgery, Kirby could start for the Fighting Illini when he gets his feet back underneath him.

Top Recruit No. 2—Reilly O’Toole

Courtesy of illinoisloyalty.com

Reilly O’Toole is a recruit that flew under the radar and that Ron Zook needed to keep in state.

He comes from Wheaton Warrenville South High School, where he won two state championships and had numbers that were off the charts.

He also was the Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year in 2010.

O’Toole is a pro-style quarterback that has a strong arm and can run effectively.

Standing 6’4” and weighing 215 pounds to go along with a talented and athletic set of skills, O’Toole has a bright future ahead of him at Illinois.

With Nathan Scheelhaase appearing to be the quarterback of the future, O’Toole will have no pressure on him to get acclimated with Paul Petrino’s offense and be ready to take over when Scheelhaase graduates.

It will be interesting to see if O’Toole takes some snaps during his freshman seasons as a complement to Scheelhaase.

Top Recruit No. 3—Jon Davis

Courtesy of rivals.com

Although Jon Davis gave his verbal commitment to the Kentucky Wildcats, he decided to play for Ron Zook on National Signing Day and was one of the recruits that changed their minds when it came down to actually signing the letters of intent.

Davis is the top offensive recruit that Zook received a commitment from.

He played tight end in high school, but according to ESPN, is athletic enough to play running back and safety at the college level.

They project him to play tight end and running back at Illinois due to his speed, ball skills and build (6’3”, 233 pounds).

Top Recruit No. 4—Darrius Caldwell

Courtesy of rivals.com

Darrius Caldwell originally committed to Georgia Tech, but changed his verbal to Illinois in January 2011.

He will come to Illinois as a tall defensive end that needs to hit the weight room.

Despite being 6’5”, he only tips the scale at 210 pounds.

You can’t teach speed, but you can bulk up in the weight room.  One good thing for Caldwell is that he is fast, so once he puts on the pounds, he has the potential to be a force at defensive end for the Illini.

Top Recruit No. 5—Clint Tucker

Courtesy of rivals.com

Clint Tucker gives Ron Zook a talented defensive tackle that could be a future option to replace Corey Liuget’s departure for the NFL Draft.

Tucker is a three-star recruit that also had originally committed to Kentucky before decommitting and signing on with the Fighting Illini.

He already has decent size for a defensive tackle (6’2”, 285 pounds), which coupled with the departure of Liuget, will give him the opportunity to earn some playing time as a freshman.

X Factor—Donovonn Young

Courtesy of maxpreps.com

Jason Ford and Troy Pollard still remain on Illinois’ roster, but considering that Leshoure shouldered most of the load last season, any new faces are going to be welcome at the running back position in 2011.

Young is a three-star recruit that suffered an injury during his junior season that scared away offers from more prestigious programs.

Zook landed a solid talent in Young, who has a reputation of being a hard-nosed runner that has enough quickness to be effective.  His 6’2”, 215 pound frame will also allow him to deliver some blows to any defender that gets in his way.

Depending upon how Ford and Pollard handle the load next season and how Young Fares during summer camp, Illini fans could see glimpses of the Texas product in 2011.

Offensive Recruits Summary

Courtesy of chicagotribune.com

1)      Chris Boles—Offensive Line

2)      Jon Davis—Tight End

3)      Tony Durkin—Offensive Line

4)      Josh Ferguson—Running Back

5)      Pat Flavin—Offensive Line

6)      Jordan Frysinger—Wide Receiver

7)      Ted Karras—Offensive Line

8)      Kenny Knight—Wide Receiver

9)      Matt LaCossee—Athlete

10)  Scott McDowell—Offensive Line

11)  Reilly O’Toole—Quarterback

12)  Jeremey Whitlow—Wide Receiver

13)  Donovonn Young—Running Back

Defensive Recruits Summary

Courtesy of scout.com

1)      Willie Beavers—Defensive Tackle

2)      Darrius Caldwell—Defensive End

3)      Ralph Cooper—Linebacker

4)      Valdon Cooper—Defensive Back

5)      Henry Dickinson—Linebacker

6)      Zeph Grimes—Defensive Back

7)      Chris Jones—Defensive Tackle

8)      Dondi Kirby—Defensive Back

9)      Kenny Nelson—Defensive End

10)  Chris O’Connor—Defensive End

11)  Eaton Spence—Defensive Back

12)  Clint Tucker—Defensive Tackle

13)  Nick North—Defensive Back

Special Teams Recruits Summary

Courtesy of rivals.com

1)      Justin DuVernois—Punter

Breakdown of Recruits by State

Courtesy of museum.state.il.us

The 2011 class has a solid haul of talent from the home state, but also shows that Zook maintains his ties in other states as well.

He proved that his pull in Florida still exists, with the Sunshine State bringing in the most recruits for 2011 after Illinois.

Illinois—8

Florida—4

Michigan—3

Georgia—2

Ohio—2

South Carolina—2

Indiana—1

Kentucky—1

New York—1

Pennsylvania—1

Tennessee—1

Texas—1

The 2011 Season Awaits...

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

CHICAGO - NOVEMBER 20: Mikel Leshoure #5 of the Illinois Fighting Illini runs on his way to a 339 yard rushing performance against the Northwestern Wildcats during a game played at Wrigley Field on November 20, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. Illinois defeated

The 2011 recruiting class will provide the Fighting Illini with talent that could fill numerous holes for them in the future.

According to Rivals, Kirby is not only the highest rated Illini commit at four-stars, but also the only four-star commitment that Ron Zook received this offseason.

That does not mean that this class doesn't have the talent to keep Illinois moving in the right direction in the future.

Illini fans should recall that recruits like Mikel Leshoure and Corey Liuget were rated as three and four-star recruits coming out of high school, but after working hard and developing while at Illinois, have become potential first round picks in the NFL Draft.