No interviewing, no writing, no phone calls, no work, just a lot of walking on the beach and relaxing in the surf. If you haven't done it, don't knock it. It's a great way to clean out all the mush in your head and recharge your batteries.

We don't fly -- at least since 1976 -- so our vacations are spent driving to one or two of four destinations each summer. Why summer? Because I got used to it. While covering high school sports for more than 30 years, I couldn't take a vacation until the season was over. So when most people went to Florida in January and February, I went in June and July.

Florida needs no explanation. It's pure relaxation. I don't play golf or fish. I enjoy eating at good restaurants, sight-seeing, visiting historical venues and relaxing on the Gulf of Mexico, which is 87 degrees at this time of the year, much more comfortable than the Atlantic. And we'll take in a Cubs/Rays baseball game, too.

Why Virginia and Mississippi? Because we're Civil War people. We've been to Gettysburg five times on the way to Antietem and Harper's Ferry and the great battlefields in Virginia. Lexington, Va., is a wonderful town, the burial sites of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. And we love to stay at the Inn at Little Washington, Va., the only five-star inn/restaurant in the world.

Mississippi features Vicksburg, Port Gibson and Natchez. The ruins of Windsor near Port Gibson and Longwood, the unfinished mansion in Natchez, are worth the trip. An overnight stop at Monmouth plantation in Natchez is a must.

Colorado fulfills my interest in the history of the West. It also includes a sidetrip to Monument Valley, the site of many John Ford/John Wayne motion pictures. Breathtaking, awe-inspiring. You've never seen anything like it, even the Grand Canyon.

But Colorado also means a stop at the Brown Palace in Denver, Vail, Beaver Creek, Aspen, Telluride, Durango, Royal Gorge, Bent's Fort, Colorado Springs and the Broadmoor, one of the finest resorts in the country.

If you've been to some or all of these places, you know what we mean and how we feel.

See you in July.

In the city, coaches serve at the behest of his high school's principal. The Chicago Board of Education rarely steps in to monitor disputes. And the Local School Council never does.

In Longstreet's case, he and Crane principal Richard Smith didn't get along. So Smith ousted Longstreet. No appeal. Longstreet knew the axe was going to fall. He didn't want to make waves because he still wants to coach in the Public League. He probably will, maybe at Dunbar.

Like Cox, he was controversial. He was widely criticized for his handling (or mishandling, as some argued) of Sherron Collins' recruiting. Many Illinois fans will go to their graves insisting that Collins gave Illini coach Bruce Weber a "silent verbal" before being influenced by former Illini coach Bill Self to go to Kansas, that Longstreet took illegal inducements to seal the deal.

Like Cox, Longstreet was accused of many things but never convicted of anything. Just a lot of irrational and unsubstantiated allegations published on the Internet or, in Cox's case, a book called "Raw Recruits" by Alexander Wolff and Armen Keteyian. The folks who made the charges, of course, will never be convinced they aren't true. But they never provide a shred of proof.

Success doesn't have anything to do with job security in the Public League. Cox was pushed out at King. And nobody in state history won more games in a shorter period of time than Cox. Longstreet was ousted. Jim Foreman, who coached Billy Harris at Dunbar, was unceremoniously jettisoned. After finishing third in the state tournament, Frank Griseto was forced out at Westinghouse.

"There are real good friends," Sunkett said. "They have been going to school together since junior high school. They have mentioned it (going to college together)."

Hawthorne, a 6-1, 185-pounder with 4.4 speed, is the total package, according to Sunkett. "He runs with the ball after the catch better than Appleton. You can run screens to him. Give him a five-yard hitch route and he can go 80 yards. I think he is a better prospect than Appleton, a Jerry Rice type. He can beat you deep and underneath," the coach said.

Hawthorne had a better junior season, catching 41 passes for 973 yards and 15 touchdowns. He has 15 offers, including Illinois, Missouri, Arizona, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Kansas, Kansas State and Vanderbilt.

Appleton, a 6-4, 205-pounder with 4.4 speed, is a superb athlete. "He is worth the price of admission. He can stretch a defensive vertically and horizontally," Sunkett said.

He has 15 offers, including Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Vanderbilt. A year ago, he caught 38 passes for 850 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Sunkett is cautious about making predictions for his 2008 squad. He has a lot of offensive talent returning from an 11-2 state semifinalist, including Hawthorne, Appleton, quarterback Detchauz Wray and running backs Courtney Molton and Vincent Arterbridge. The offense averaged 39 points last season and amassed nearly 5,000 yards rushing and passing.

"It's too early to tell," Sunkett said. "You have to have offensive linemen to complement your backs. We graduated three up front (including all-stater Brandon Harold, who went to Missouri) so we have three holes to fill. The quicker they come along, the better we will be. This year's team still have to prove themselves. Each team has its own personality."

On another front, it appears that former All-Chicago Area linebacker Aaron Nagel of Lemont has decided to leave Notre Dame after his redshirt freshman season and likely will opt to transfer to Northwestern, where he will join younger brother Brett, an incoming freshman who may be groomed to play tight end.

Aaron Nagel saw the handwriting on the wall. He received little practice time last fall and, with Darius Fleming of St. Rita and Steve Filer of Mount Carmel coming in to bolster an already solid group of linebackers on the Irish roster, he felt he would get little playing time in his second year.

1. I didn't see Mount Carmel's 1950 football team, which some say was the best in state history, but no team impressed me more than Bloom's 1957 team that featured Leroy Jackson.

2. There is no more picturesque atmosphere to watch a football game on a Saturday afternoon in the autumn that Glenbard West in Glen Ellyn. Norman Rockwell should have painted the scene.

3. I haven't been to Ohio State but I've been to Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Purdue and the Big Ten doesn't compare to the SEC when it comes to generating fan electricity at football games.

5. I'm not a big football (soccer) fan, either, but I didn't miss a second of the Manchester United/Chelsea duel for the European Champions League title. Who said soccer was boring?

6. Since Michael Jordan left the Bulls, I haven't bothered to watch many NBA games until the playoffs begin. Sorry, but until they get serious, I don't get serious about the games.

7. If the Bulls don't draft Derrick Rose, they will continue to drift around the NBA like a rudderless ship. What did they lack last year? Leadership. There is no substitute for great leadership.

8. Assuming lineman Marcus Hall will choose Ohio State instead of Illinois, the next great recruit to be signed by Illinois coach Ron Zook will be (take your pick) defensive end Craig Drummond of Morgan Park, wide receiver Kraig Appleton or Terry Hawthorne of East St. Louis, defensive back Justin Green of Louisville, Ky., or running back Ronnie Wingo of St. Louis.

In cast you haven't been keeping count, Ohio State already has 14 oral commitments, including seven top 100 players and defensive end Melvin Fellows, who originally pledged to Illinois.

Texas has 18 commitments, including three 5-star players and 11 4-star players. USC has 10 commitments, including five top 100 prospects and the nation's top-rated player, quarterback Matt Barkley. LSU has 12 commitments, Georgia and Oklahoma 11 each.

There is no reason to panic. For those who wonder if their alma maters will be able to catch up in the recruiting sweepstakes--Michigan has 8 commitments, Notre Dame 4, Florida 3, Illinois 2--it would be wise to note that most of the very best prospects usually don't commit until January or February.

Illinois coach Ron Zook and his staff are in the chase for some of the top 25 players in the country at their positions. The Illini have landed two outstanding line prospects, Leon Hill and Lendell Buckner of Chicago (Leo.)

Zook is pursuing five other in-state players--defensive end Craig Drummond of Chicago (Morgan Park), offensive linemen Chris Watt of Glenbard West and Pat Ward of Providence and wide receivers Kraig Appleton and Terry Hawthorne of East St. Louis.

Two quarterbacks are on Zook's list--Morgan Newton of Carmel, Ind., and Dolapo Mccarthy of Merrillville, Ind.

Defensive end and wide receiver are priorities. The list of defensive ends includes Drummond, Deonte Arnett of Forestville, Md., Tyrone Ezell of Munhall, Pa., Cornellius Carradine of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Jonathan Newsome of Cleveland, Ohio.

Other wide receivers are Terdema Ussery of Dallas, Texas, Keenan Davis of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Duwyce Wilson of Columbus, Ind.

Zook hopes to lure Marcus Hall of Cleveland, Ohio, one of the nation's premier offensive tackles, away from Ohio State. He also is recruiting offensive linemen Andrew Carter of Tallahassee, Fla., Adam Bellamy of Aurora, Ohio, and Steve Fiacable of Fort Wayne, Ind.

Other highly rated recruits are running backs David Oku of Oklahoma City, Okla, Ronnie Wingo of St. Louis, Mo., and Brandon Wegher of Sioux City, Iowa; linebackers Kerry Hyder of Austin, Texas, and Jordan Barnes of Fort Wayne, Ind.; and cornerback Justin Green of Louisville, Ky.

He said he reads three daily newspapers but his son only reads the Internet. His son thinks his father is a dinosaur. His son keeps a record of current events but, his father lamented, probably couldn't tell you what the Civil War was about or when it was fought.

A sense of historical perspective, he said, is sadly lacking in the modern generation.

I couldn't agree more.

I never thought I would ever find myself in a position where I felt compelled to defend Pete Elliott"s credentials as a college football recruiter.

But it is apparent that some knuckleheads in Illini Nation, rather than take time to read the media guide or do any research, would rather take a few cheap shots and demonstrate their ignorance.

I was on campus at the time. Working for Bert Bertine, the sports editor of the Champaign-Urbana Courier, I helped to cover the football team in 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1965 before leaving in August, 1966, to become high school sports editor of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.

This isn't a slam at Ron Zook. He is a skilled recruiter, one of the 10 best in college football. No one questions his credentials. But let's give Pete Elliott his due. In the early 1960s, he brought Illinois back from the Dark Ages. He put Dick Butkus on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Yes, Elliott only coached at Illinois for a few years in the 1960s. Yes, he left in disgrace after the slush fund scandal was exposed.

But Elliott was a superb recruiter. He signed nearly 20 players who went on to play in the NFL, including Dick Butkus, Jim Grabowski, Don Hansen, Ron Acks, George Donnelly, Cyril Pinder, Archie Sutton, Greg Schumacher, Marshall Starks, John Wright, Mike Taliaferro, Bob Trumpy and Jimmy Warren.

How many coaches can make that statement?

Butkus credits Elliott's chief assistant, Bill Taylor, for persuading him to attend Illinois rather than Notre Dame and for helping to develop him into the greatest linebacker in football history.

Elliott, who coached another future NFL star Joe Kapp and California to the Rose Bowl before suceeding Ray Eliot at Illinois, looked like a Hollywood actor. He was quiet, smooth and charming, always wore a coat and tie, and was a media darling. He never saw a newspaper reporter and photographer, a radio microphone or a television camera that he didn't like.

If the slush fund scandal hadn't scuttled Illinois' football program in the late 1960s, there is no telling how successful Elliott could have been.

Not to mention that their concept of history is Neanderthal, their grammar is awful and their spelling is worse. No wonder they prefer to use anonymous names.

Obviously, the last thing the cult wants is to have a reason to remove me from their "most hated" list.

No need.

But football coach Ron Zook's chief assistant, Cassie Arner, called me to request a parley after reading my recent blogs about "control freaks" and "suspended list" and an alleged recruiting incident involving assistant coach Mike Woodford.

I obliged.

No, my editors didn't tell me to do it. They didn't even know about it until after it happened, then requested a story about the meeting. They don't tell anybody what to publish or what not to publish on their blogs. In nearly 50 years in this profession, I have never had an editor tell me that I couldn't print a story.

Zook and I agreed on several issues:

1. I should love my university, he said. I do, I said. I annually donate money to the Illinois Alumni Association, LAS, UI Library, Illini Media and my fraternity. And my mother (Journalism, 1939) and I have a $1,500 paver at the entrance to Campbell Center.

2. Neither one of us should ever read the Internet. He learned his lesson at the University of Florida. I learned mine several months ago. It's a no-win situation for coaches and sportswriters. Ask Bruce Weber.

3. Our recent dispute was the result of a "miscommunication." I called Zook to get a comment for a story. He claims he was never informed of the call. His assistant, Arner, said he was informed but didn't want to omment. Whatever, in the future, I have Zook's cell phone number. It won't happen again.

4. The Chicago media isn't anti-Illinois, as many members of Illini Nation claim. Zook insists he has a very good relationship with the Chicago media. He understands that Chicago has more coverage responsibilities than just what happens in Champaign-Urbana. He said he is comfortable with his share of the action.

5. I suggested that he should have a similar one-on-one meeting with recruiting analyst Tom Lemming. He agreed. Lemming is accused of being anti-Illinois and pro-Notre Dame by many members of Illini Nation and Zook has some issues with Lemming, too. Lemming has said that he would welcome a meeting.

There is no reason to believe that we won't agree to disagree on some issues in the future. That is the nature of this business. Zook doesn't expect me to be a cheerleader and I don't expect him to tell me what is going on in his inner sanctum.

King basketball coach Landon Cox had an adversarial relationship for years. I'd write something he didn't like (Efrem Winters' grade-changing scandal) and he wouldn't talk to me for a week or two or three. But sooner or later, one of us would pick up the phone and we'd begin talking again like nothing had happened. At his request, I spoke at his retirement party.

I understand how the game is played. I think Ron Zook understands. I don't think the lunatic fringe of Illini Nation ever will.

The most interesting insight I ever received came in 1972, when legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden dispatched assistant coach Gary Cunningham to scout Thornridge's Quinn Buckner.

Afterward, I asked Cunningham what he had learned, how he evaluated Buckner, if he thought Buckner could play at UCLA.

He said he didn't come to see if Buckner could play at UCLA. Wooden had already received enough information about Buckner to know that he could play at that level.

"I came to see what Buckner did during the timeouts," Cunningham said. "Does he listen to the coach or does he look up in the stands? Does he pay attention? Is his head in the game? Does he keep his teammates in the game? Is he a team player? Is he a leader or a follower?"

It's called character and Buckner had more than anyone else. Today, character, not talent, is the most important trait that college coaches look for in a recruit. They look for kids with character, not kids who are characters.

When I met with Illinois football coach Ron Zook last week, he talked about how important is is to establish relationships with recruits. And he said the most important thing about establishing a relationship is determining what kind of character the prospect has.

That's why recruiting analyst Tom Lemming travels all over the country each year to personally meet with the top 1,200 seniors. He currently is on a 21-day trip to California, Hawaii, Arizona, New Mexico, Dallas/Fort Worth, Oklahoma and Kansas City...four plane flights and 11,000 miles by car.

Some unknowing critics argue that Lemming is grandstanding, that he doesnb't have to travel all over the country--after all, they say, no one else does it--so why can't he evaluate players on film like everyone else? But that isn't the way "everyone else" does it?

"Thirty years ago, I took a cue from NFL people," Lemming said. "It's impossible to get a true evaluation without talking to a prospect, to see what they physically look like. It is important to see if they fit their description.

"Then it is important to look them in the eye and ask how important football is to them, to determine their heart and character. The NFL and the NBA and Major League Baseball, the pros, don't offer contracts and the colleges don't offer scholarships without seeing a prospect face-to-face.

"Character has become so important in the evaluating process. Nobody can afford to bring in a kid who could disrupt the program. You have to know how much time they are willing to put into their careers, to follow their passion, to get better. You can't see that on the telephone or on film."

The stupidity and lack of historical perspective of the lunatic fringe of Illini Nation never ceases to amaze me.

Pete Elliott wasn't a good recruiter?

For you knuckleheads who think history started in the 1980s, Elliott recruited Dick Butkus and Jim Grabowski and nine other players on the 1963, 1964 and 1965 Illinois teams who later played in the NFL.

Let's hope Ron Zook does as well.

The first thing you notice about Illinois' head football coach is he is a charmer. And that's a compliment. It goes a long way toward explaining why he is one of the leading recruiters in the country.

I've been in the presence of some very successful salesmen over the years, from Illinois' Pete Elliott to Notre Dame's Lou Holtz to Indiana's Bob Knight. But Zook has a different approach.

When he's through and he shakes your hand and bids a fond adieu, you wonder how any 18-year-old can look him in the eye and say: "Coach, I like what you say. But I'm going to Michigan." Judging by his recent rate of success, very few can.

He is well-versed in what it takes to be successful in the coaching profession, how to sell his program and his university, how to schmooze the media, cater to alumni and juggle the delicate balancing act between recruiting in-state players and blue chippers from Florida, Ohio, New Jersey, North Carolina and Georgia.

Zook has been through the wars, the turmoil of fireronzook.com at the University of Florida and unsubstantiated accusations of cheating while recruiting his first class at Illinois. He understands that is part of the game, fair or not.

He doesn't want to comment on negative recruiting or "bad-mouthing," the practice of one school trying to persuade a prospect to drop another school from consideration by alleging more sins than Sodom and Gomorrah. But he claims it is worse this season than ever before.

"I guess you have to take it as a compliment," he said. "If they are trying to ruin your recruiting, if they are coming after you, it must mean you are doing something right, that you are being successful."

He was right. Whenever I am tempted, which is rare, I pick up a good Civil War book instead. I don't iss the name-calling, the lack of historical perspective, the misconceptions, erroneous facts, anonymous rants and unsubstantiated accusations.

But sometimes I hear something that can't be overlooked, something that must be addressed, that can't go without a returning salvo.

We don't lose, they cheated. The NCAA and the Big Ten have it in for us. Great athletes don't come to Illinois because they get bought by other colleges. The Chicago media is against us. The slush fund was small potatoes compared to what other colleges are doing.

That has been the mindset since the 1960s.

But they keep looking for more excuses.

An Illinois assistant football coach recently went into the home of a highly rated recruit in the East. The coach began to talk about Illinois and the recruiting process and, somewhere along the way, the recruit mentioned that he had a conversation with recruiting analyst Tom Lemming, whom he had met a few weeks earlier.

The coach erupted. He claimed Lemming was a pro-Notre Dame, always tried to persuade players to go to Notre Dame and didn't like Illinois, among other things. And he even brought up my name. He portrayed me as an anti-Illinois writer from Chicago.

The recruit and his father were dumbfounded by the coach's outburst. Lemming had never mentioned Notre Dame, they told the coach. He had only talked about the recruiting process, what he had experienced for 30 years. Afterward, the father told his son: "You aren't going to Illinois."

I was told the name of the coach. I've never heard of him. I've never met him or talked to him or interviewed him. I hope he does a better job of evaluating talent than he did of checking out my background. Or Lemming's history at Notre Dame. The facts, not the myths.

But that apparently is the way business is being done at Illinois. Coach Ron Zook and his handlers have a "suspended list," a list of media (including me) that are judged to be subversives, people who supposedly never write anything positive about the Illini program, only negative issues.

Zook and his handlers have made it clear to some writers--the Sun-Times' Herb Gould is on their most favored list--that they only want positive articles to be printed and nothing less will be tolerated or approved. If you are on the "suspended list," you won't be granted an interview.

That's the way business is being done in Urbana-Champaign and South Bend. Imagine, Zook and Charlie Weis. Strange bedfellows.

Illinois' goal forever is to catch Ohio State and Michigan, to rise from their shadow and stand on the same podium. But they won't do it until they begin to display a measure of class, perceived or otherwise, the same type of class that took Ohio State and Michigan to the top. Trust me, Illini Nation, you'll know it when you see it.

They are another reason to distrust college football and basketball, as if you didn't need another one. They are the latest device invented by college coaches to manipulate the media and squeeze the personalities out of what the NCAA laughingly refer to as "student-athletes."

They employ an army of gofers, go-betweens, lackeys and buffers--otherwise known as agents, publicists and schedulers--to prevent their clients from being soiled by controversy and keep their public image as squeaky clean as Mickey Mouse.

But let's focus on colleges.

There was a time when the media could walk into a locker room before and after practice and after games and be accorded access to any athlete, even Dick Butkus. You didn't have to call a public relations flak to request an interview, explain what you wanted to talk about, then wait for a puff of white smoke from the coach's tower.

I recall in the early 1970s when I covered the NBA playoff series between the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers. After the first game in the Forum, I recall how overwhelmed I was when I was told I had unfettered access to the Lakers' locker room. Imagine walking into a room and seeing Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Gail Goodrich sitting in front of their lockers, waiting for a sportswriter from Chicago to ask some questions.

No posses, no entourages, no 50-watt radio stations, no media frenzy.

No longer.

A public relations person at a Big Ten university recently informed a sportswriter from a major metropolitan newspaper that he wouldn't be granted access to the head football coach unless the article was to be positive. They only want positive articles, no negative ones, the writer was told.

Another sportswriter attempted to gain access to a Big Ten football coach for a story that his public relations flak interpreted as "too controversial." The coach never returned a call.

College coaches keep such a tight lid on their players that sometimes parents can't even contact their sons.

A writer calls a public relations person to request an interview with an athlete. If the story is dubbed to be good publicity for the program, the interview is granted. But if the writer or his media outlet hasn't had a good relationship with the coach...well, don't wait by the phone.

Has anybody ever asked these kids if they'd like to talk for themselves?

Wheaton North's Mike Trumpy was confronted by the stigma while he was scrutinizing the recruiting process and weighing all of his options before he opted to commit to Northwestern last week.

He has good bloodlines. His uncle, Bob Trumpy, played tight end at Illinois and Utah and was a two-time All-AFL and two-time Pro Bowl selection during a 10-year NFL career with the Cincinnati Bengals.

He also is an outstanding athlete. He is one of the leading hurdlers in the state. He has been timed in 10.7 seconds for 100 meters and 14.28 seconds for the 110-meter high hurdles. Last February, at the Proviso West indoor meet, he was timed in 7.4 seconds in the 55-meter high hurdles to tie a record set by Olympian Greg Foster.

But Trumpy is white.

"In football, when you're talking about skilled players, there is a reverse prejudice that white players have to deal with," said recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of CBS College Sports. "College coaches for the most part don't believe white kids can play tailback or cornerback. Trumpy has done a great job of proving he can play at the highest level."

During his recruiting, Trumpy received only three big-time offers--from Northwestern, Vanderbilt and Stanford.

Several big-time schools, including Illinois, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Alabama, Colorado, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Michigan and Ohio State, expressed interest. Some invited him to visit the campus, some wanted him to participate in a one-day camp, others requested film. But none of them offered a scholarship.

"It's old-school prejudice," Lemming said. "College coaches don't believe white tailbacks have running instincts to be big-time tailbacks. They don't believe white tailbacks and cornerbacks have natural instinctive moves or loose hips on offense or the ability to turn quickly and backpedal on defense.

"A lot of times over the 30 years I have been evaluating high school players I have mentioned a tailback I like who happens to be white and the college coaches won't even bother to see him. They don't get a chance to play in college. And how many white tailbacks and cornerbacks do you see in the NFL?"

His most recent camp, by his own admission, was one of the best. "Based on talent and depth, it was one of our better camps," he said. "Out of 250 kids who participated, there were at least 75 Division I prospects."

Mike Mullins, coach of the Illinois Wolves' AAU program, boosted the talent level by bringing three teams of 15, 16 and 17-and-under players.

"Other than (former Peoria Central star, 2004 Illinois Player of the Year and NBA lottery pick) Shaun Livingston, he is the best player I've seen come out of the Peoria area," Flanagan said.

While Sims-Edwards is well known, Flanagan admitted that he had never seen 6-6 junior Mikel Brigham of Danville before the camp. It was quite an eyeful. Brigham clearly was the No. 2 player in the field.

"He has been talked about as a Big 10 football prospect," Flanagan said. "But he can play basketball in the Big 10, too. He can run the floor. At 6-6 and 190 pounds, he dominated the boards. He is strong and athletic. But he might have to attend a junior college or prep school."

The other top performers in the camp (in order), according to Flanagan, were 6-3 junior guard Diamond Taylor of St. Joseph, who is committed to Wisconsin; 6-4 junior guard Joseph Bertrand of Sterling, who is committed to Illinois; 6-1 sophomore point guard Dre McCamey of St. Joseph; 5-11 freshman point guard Donivine Stewart of Bartonville Limestone; and 6-9 junior Zeke Schneider of Metamora.

Also 6-7 junior Conrad Krutwig of Jacobs; 6-5 freshman guard Andrew Taylor of Peoria Woodruff; 6-8 junior Nick Washburn of Mahomet-Seymour; 6-2 junior guard James Kinney of Champaign Centennial; 6-4 junior guard Tim Traversa of St. Patrick; 6-5 sophomore guard Alex Dragicevich of Glenbrook North; 6-4 senior guard Derek Tartt of Fenwick, who will attend a prep school, Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, next fall; and 6-7 junior Troy Snyder of Bolingbrook.

It is a process that is never-ending. Coaches realize a fundamental rule in recruiting, something that Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest understood during the Civil War almost 150 years ago. "Get thar the firstest with the mostest," he said. Forrest might not have been eloguent but he was very effective. He didn't lose any battles.

At the moment, two players stand out above the rest--6-6, 275-pound offensive tackle Chris Lombard of Fremd and 6-4, 230-pound defensive end Chance Carter of Loyola.

Veteran Fremd coach Mike Donatucci said Lombard is "as good a lineman as anyone I've seen" and recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of CSTV rates him as the No. 1 player in his class in the Chicago area.

Carter could be the best athlete in the class.

Another outstanding athlete is 6-7, 228-pound wide receiver C.J. Fedorowicz of Johnsburg, who caught 76 passes for 1,046 yards and 22 touchdowns last year.

Quarterbacks to watch are Chandler Whitmer of Downers Grove South, who passed for 1,271 yards and 18 touchdowns last season, John Whitelaw of Hinsdale Central, Miles Osei of Prospect and Billy VandeMerkt of Riverside-Brookfield.

Best linemen are John Thibideau (6-5, 265) and Zach Fulton (6-5, 275) of Homewood-Flossmoor, Frank Boenzi (6-3, 285) of Geneva, Shawn Afryl (6-4, 295) of Niles West, Kevin Schlitter (6-5, 245) of Maine South, Matt Mautone (6-3, 285) of St. Charles North, Laken Tomlinson (6-6, 280) of Lane Tech, Bergeau Saintil (6-2, 265) of Niles North, Austin Teitsma (6-2, 210) of Glenbard South, Danny Kiebler (6-3, 225) of Leyden and Joey Riddle (6-4, 220) of Joliet.

The list of running backs includes Cameron Gillespie of Round Lake, Julian Banuelos of Wheaton Warrenville South, Greg Kennedy of Warren, Darnell Swanigan of Proviso East and LaSteven McKinney of Nazareth.

Receivers? Dan Hohenstein of Wheaton Warrenville South, Corey Cooper of Proviso East, Daron Brown of Morgan Park, Rodney Lloyd of Fenger and Peter Houlihan of Providence.

And what about the class of 2011? Next fall's sophomores?

Victor Nelson, a 6-7, 282-pound offensive tackle at Maine South, could emerge as the best prospect the Park Ridge school has produced since All-Pro lineman Dave Butz in 1968.