Feb. 7, 2006

As the clock struck midnight and the calendar turned to February 1st, most people in Champaign-Urbana were lying in their beds soundly sleeping on a cold night. It was a normal night to most, but for the Illinois football coaches and support staff, it was a nerve-racking night filled with questions that wouldn't be answered until at least 7 a.m.

Somewhere in Champaign, Illinois recruiting coordinator Reggie Mitchell was tossing and turning, dreaming of what might happen the next day.

Coach Ron Zook didn't sleep much at all, but when he did he was having pleasant dreams.

"I was dreaming of every one of these kids on the field," said Zook as he paced up and down the hallways of the Illinois football complex.

At 5:30 in the morning while the rest of the town was sleeping, the Illinois coaches were wide awake. The lights in the offices were on, the bagels and donuts, courtesy of Illinois associate recruiting coordinator, Bobbi Duval, were laid out on the table and everyone was wide awake ready for the day to begin.

The only problem was the coaches were too nervous to eat and the action wasn't ready to begin.

The "War Room"

For a little over an hour, things were eerily quiet in the Illinois "War Room." Zook made some calls to his friends, Coaches Mitchell and Mike Locksley were sending text messages, and all of the coaches were sharing stories of former classes and recruiting memories.

The phones were relatively quiet and the magical sound of the fax machine picking up was not to be heard. There was anxiousness, there was excitement and there was tension---a whole lot of tension.

As Zook sat nervously in his chair waiting for the phone to ring, the rest of the staff began to poke fun at their head man, who an hour into the day's festivities, looked like he had been through a battle.

Even Mitchell, who was sitting slumped back in his chair with his phone in his hand, joined the fun.

"You are all making fun, but you are the same as me," replied Zook as he continued to pace back and forth.

For as calm as Mitchell looked at that one moment, he stomach was churning inside. As recruiting coordinator and the man who recruited the player who is widely considered as the crown jewel of the 2006 class, Isiah "Juice" Williams, Mitchell, like his colleagues, experienced some nervous moments until those faxes started to pour in.

Assistant Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Reggie Mitchell plays the waiting game in his favorite chair just outside the "War Room."

The normal easy-going, talkative, up-and-moving Mitchell, for most of the morning, sat in his chair, nervously tapping his fingers as he awaited news of the first National Letter of Intent to arrive.

7:13 a.m.: An Illinois fan on a message board was wondering whose letter of intent would arrive first. Mitchell replied, "We're dying to know, too."

Just two minutes later, amid the building pressure and anticipation, Zook left the War Room to change into his coaching gear. Almost as soon as he returned to his office, the phone rang.

7:17 a.m.: Offensive Line Coach Ed Warriner took the phone and talked to Ryan Palmer. As Zook rushed back from changing, he grabbed the phone and congratulated Palmer on being a part of the Illinois football family.

7:24 a.m.: Palmer's National Letter of Intent (NLI) arrived. Warriner could finally relax and grab his first donut of the day.

Inside the Illinois War Room (the main conference room) there are boards on virtually every wall. One board keeps the running tally of the Illinois depth chart and the others all have to do with recruiting. Another board tracks the junior recruits for the class of 2007 that they are planning to call and offer. A third board tracks the number of official visits they have had during the 2006 recruiting season.

And then there is the main board. On the morning of Signing Day, a thick blue line runs across the board. Far below the line is a card for each player that Illinois has been recruiting for the 2006 class. Each card is filled out with the recruit's name, his position, his hometown and his high school. There are different colored cards for recruits they have offered, recruits that they have just looked at, and recruits that have verbally committed.

Directly below the blue line is a blue name plate with the name of each recruit the staff was expecting to sign that day, lined up directly under his position.

As each National Letter of Intent arrived, Zook moved to the board to move the recruit's name plate about the line. When a name plate crosses the line, the player `officially' becomes part of the Fighting Illini football team.

7:29 a.m.: The phone rang, and on the other end it was Chris Duvalt from Florida. Zook took the phone and welcomed Duvalt. "We are planning to do big things here and we are glad to have you as part of it," he said.

By this time, the office was buzzing. The phones were ringing off the hook, text-messages were coming in by the minute and assistants were scrambling to answer calls to find out who the next fax would be from.

7:34 a.m.: Garrett Edwards' National Letter of Intent arrived.

With all the commotion around the offices, Mitchell was still anxiously awaiting letters from two of the early commits and prized recruits in the 2006 class, Juice Williams and Chris James.

"I used to not get this nervous," said Mitchell. "It must come on with age."

7:38 a.m.: The letter of intent from Chris Duvalt, the four-star cornerback from Lakeland, Fla. with 4.38 (40-yard dash) speed, arrived. As soon as Zook put Duvalt's name above the line on the board, he received more good news.

7:41 a.m.: Antonio James' National Letter of Intent came in. As Zook rolled into the War Room with a big smile on his face, he couldn't hide his excitement over getting James. "This is a coup. I really thought Ohio State or Michigan would make a big push to get this kid. There is no question he is the real deal," said Zook.

After a few quiet minutes, the staff reassembled inside the War Room, anxiously awaiting the next big push. When Zook received a phone call, he lit up and told everyone in the room, "Cornman and Boatman are on their way!"

"Cornman" is Brad Carmin. Carmin is a long time fan of the Florida Gators football team and gets his name, (courtesy of Coach Zook, of course) because he works as a corn farmer in Indiana and will always bring corn when it's in season. Zook met Carmin at Treasure Island in Florida and has been a close friend ever since---even attending several Illinois road games this past season.

The "Boatman" is Bill Daulton. He hails from right outside Columbus, Ohio; the Daulton and Zook families have been vacationing together ever since Zook was an assistant at Ohio State in the late 1980's. The nickname comes from Daulton's profession as a boat dealer.

7:51 a.m.: Before Zook could even finish his announcement, the phone rang and Warriner let him know it was Jeff Cumberland. Even though Zook was welcoming him to the Illinois football family, Cumberland's scheduled press conference in Columbus later in the day would delay the arrival of his letter of intent.

7:53 a.m.: Another letter of intent arrived. This one was from Brandon Jordan.

As the name plates continued to move above the blue line on the board, the mood in the `War Room' and around the Illinois football complex began to lighten. Things were going according to plan and everything was falling into place.

But with all of the letters rolling in and the fax machine working feverishly, there were still no letters from Chris James and "Juice" Williams.

"Why does it have to be this way," wondered Mitchell.

He wouldn't have to wait much longer.

7:57 a.m. Chris James' NLI arrived. Zook went to the board and made a declaration that resounded around the Illinois football complex. "CJ is in the house!"

Locksley, the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator, seemed relaxed through the early morning and remarkably so since he was the lead recruiter for seven of the recruits, including four from the Washington, D.C. area, that were planning to sign throughout the day. For most of the early morning he took some calls, joked around and leaned back relaxed in his chair.

Finally, his recruits' letters started to arrive.

8:10 a.m.: "Travon Bellamy is in the house," Zook yelled.

8:11 a.m.: Clay Nurse's letter came out of the fax machine on the heels of Bellamy's.

8:13 a.m.: Dustin Jefferson's National Letter of Intent arrived.

Within a span of just three minutes, the faxes were rolling in. The Illini had added offensive linemen, defensive lineman, safeties, cornerbacks, and wide receivers, but still no quarterbacks.

"We might not be able to get out of the huddle if that doesn't change," joked Zook.

8:24 a.m.: The letter they have all been waiting for slipped out of the fax machine. Illinois now officially `Got Juice' with the arrival of Isiah Williams' NLI.

With 10 letters of intent down and 11 more to go, the mood around the Illinois football complex and the War Room continued to lighten. During a rare five minutes where the phones weren't ringing, a friendly argument broke out within the room about how smart the coaches were. When Locksley announced he was on the Dean's List in college, most coaches dismissed that as ridiculous.

Offensive Coordinator Mike Locksley, Head Coach Ron Zook and Receivers Coach Dino Dawson pause for a break in the "War Room." The coaches seemed to be happier and looser as each letter of commitment came in on Signing Day.

Locksley walked out of the room and returned just a few minutes later with his college report card in hand. His fellow coaches couldn't believe he not only still had it, but had it on him in the office.

"You should never really get an argument with Mike Locksley," joked Mitchell. "One thing you know is that he is going to try to win and usually will do everything he can to get the evidence."

8:40 a.m.: Joe Morgan's National Letter of Intent arrived giving Warriner three of his four recruits above the blue line on the board.

"Go grab yourself another donut," yelled out Zook, referring to Warriner's propensity and superstition to grab a donut each time one of his recruits sent his letter in.

8:42 a.m.: The letter from Anterio Jackson, the third of three Public League recruits, arrived.

8:44 a.m.: Eddie McGee's NLI came in.

8:47 a.m.: Jon Asamoah's was the next letter of intent to show up.

8:50 a.m.: Uh oh! The Hoo-Man, Mike Hoomanawanui's letter exited the fax machine.

With 15 national letters of intent in and only six to go, there finally was a moment for the coaches to catch their breaths.

As coaches walked in and out of the War Room, associate recruiting coordinator, Bobbi Duval, was writing the names of the top juniors on one of the boards.

To write on the board one must have permission from Coach Zook. Many of the assistant coaches, including Mitchell, the recruiting coordinator, joked that they don't even go near the boards, even with permission.

9:17 a.m.: Coach Zook proudly announced to the rest of the room that Coach Mitchell was "back to normal."

Mitchell replied, "I certainly wasn't myself."

9:19 a.m:. Antonio Gully's National Letter of Intent arrived.

After a call from Coach Bill Mosel at Thornton, the phones remained quiet for a few minutes. With only five letters of intent left to go, the light at the end of the tunnel was there, but that didn't allow Zook to take a deep breath.

As the head coach paced back and forth in the War Room, Mitchell joked, "Good to see him back to normal."

9:58 a.m.: Craig Wilson's NLI came in.

By the top of the hour, the 2006 class was getting closer and closer to being completed, but that didn't stop the staff from working on the next class. Zook and the rest of his assistants spent the better part of the next two hours talking with juniors and telling them all they could about the University of Illinois.

"Today is a special day for us and next year will be a special day for you," said Zook to virtually every recruit he spoke to throughout the day.

10:28 a.m.: The letter from Rahkeem Smith came out of the fax machine. 18 down and 3 to go!

The coaches spent most of the next two hours in their offices breaking down videotape, calling Class of 2007 prospects and hanging out in the main area of the coaches' offices.

Locksley continued to work the phone to find out about Vontae Davis and Mitchell was on the phone talking to someone about Jerry Brown. There might only be three letters remaining, but the coaches continued to work the phones.

At noon, lunch arrived from BW3, and all the coaches and the support staff took a break to partake of some wings, mozzarella sticks and boneless buffalo wings.

Coach Zook's wife, Denise, entered the `War Room' and was soon joined by their daughter, Casey, who took some time out of her daily school schedule for a visit.

12:18 p.m.: Zook took a call from Jerry Brown, who committed to Illinois over Oklahoma and Nebraska. "We are going to do special things here," Zook said to Brown.

As the coaches took turns doing live video interviews or chats on fightingillini.com, the phones and the fax machine continued to ring.

12:51 p.m.: Jerry Brown's NLI arrived.

1:06 p.m.: More good news...the letter of intent comes in from Vontae Davis, the top-ranked (according to Rivals) recruit in the Washington, D.C., area.

With 20 NLI's in, there was only one to go. Warriner kept all of the coaches apprised of the Jeff Cumberland situation. Cumberland was part of a large signing day party in Columbus and would be faxing his letter over shortly.

As the coaches talked about next season and the off-season improvements under strength coach Lou Hernandez, the fax machine rang one more time.

Coach Ed Warinner proudly displays the final letter of intent of the day, that of Jeff Cumberland of Columbus, Ohio.

2:05 p.m.: Cumberland's National Letter of Intent arrived. Warriner headed into the `War Room' to proudly show off the final letter.

The 2006 recruiting class was complete. As cheers flew from everywhere around the football complex, Zook leaned back in his chair and looked at the board, which now showed every name above the thick blue line.

"This is a great class," he said as he took his first deep breath of the entire day.

But before he could admire it too long, Coach Dan Disch rushed into the room, cell phone in hand. It was a recruit for the Class of 2007 and Zook gladly took the phone.

While they had completed the class of 2006 only seconds before, Coach Zook weren't going to sit back and marvel at the accomplishment. It was already time to turn their full attention to 2007.