Editor's note: The University of Florida has granted ESPN.com a behind-the-scenes look at what takes place in the crescendo of the college football recruiting season. Check back again late Wednesday for an exclusive look at how National Signing Day unfolds for a team expected to land one of the nation's top recruiting classes.

By Wayne Drehs
ESPN.com

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- It's supposed to be the most stressful time of year for college football coaches. It's supposed to be a mind-numbing, Pepto-guzzling experience.

	Florida head coach Ron Zook isn't resting on the laurels of his expected top recruiting class, but is working his cell phone Tuesday.

Yet sitting in the Florida football war room Tuesday, less than 24 hours before National Signing Day, and it quickly becomes apparent that the nerves of the 13 staff members sitting around the brown conference table are anything but frayed.

Head coach Ron Zook has his feet up on the table. Offensive line coach Joe Wickline is teasing running backs coach Larry Fedora about how he sleeps naked while on the road. And everybody is getting on new defensive coordinator Charlie Strong, who came to Florida from South Carolina in January, about his large late-season contributions.

"Strong can't be everywhere," Fedora says sarcastically. "That's why we have cardboard cutouts. We walk into a home, introduce ourselves and then introduce the cutout: 'This is Charlie Strong.' "

Hardly the tension-filled atmosphere expected from a group of men whose careers hinge not only on how well they recruit, but how well the recruits play in the years ahead. They've had a few bad nights' sleep wondering if a recruit will come through and sign with Florida.

The Gators finished 8-5 this past season, their first without Steve Spurrier, and Zook and his staff have worked tirelessly since May to bring a new crop of blue-chip talent to Gainesville. As of late Tuesday, there are a few pieces to the puzzle yet to fall into place, but if everything comes together as expected, Zook appears on target to land one of the nation's top recruiting classes come Wednesday night.

"We have a pretty good idea of what we think is going to happen on Wednesday," Zook said, "but you worry about the surprises. You worry what somebody else might be doing while you're sitting here having a sandwich.

	Defensive Coordinator Charlie Strong takes a late-afternoon call in his office.

"Somewhere along the line, it has to be about trust. The players have put their trust in us, and we've put our trust in them."

Tuesday is a day for planning. In a conference room dominated by two dry-erase boards -- one, at one end, containing the name and position of every player on the Gators' current roster, and one, at the other end, with the names of every player the Gators are recruiting -- Zook asks when and where he could expect a signed letter of intent from each recruit. Assistants who don't have an answer are instructed to get one.

The ring of a cell phone sends 13 guys scurrying to their pockets. Inevitably, just about every coach will get a call and subsequently leave the room to give an 11th-hour pitch to a wavering recruit or just say hello to a solid one.

By 11 a.m., Zook's sleek, silver Motorola flip phone runs low on batteries. It rings with an important call and Zook needs an assistant to track down the charger so he can talk. "My cell phones dying! It's the last day of all this and my cell phone is dying. Can you believe that?"

Support staff have sent each potential signee a Fed Ex package, complete with the official National Letter of Intent, instructions on how to the fill out the letter, how to fax the letter and what number to call Coach Zook afterward so he can offer congratulations. Of course, there are details to be attended to around the office, as well. Zook makes a request of Megan McLaughlin, the office manager, before she leaves for the day. "Megan, make sure there's plenty of toner in the fax machine. And paper, too."

"All people want to know in the end is, 'Who did you get?' " Zook said. "But they have no idea what all goes into getting that player."

The process started eight months ago, when the names of some 1,500 high school juniors were entered into a database. Since then, assistant coaches have spent a combined 62 days on the road. The football office has sent 18,500 pieces of mail. Coach Zook has visited 13 different states, logging 11,872 miles, either by land or through the air, in December and another 9,895 miles in January.

	Zook makes sure last details are attended to before National Signing Day.

Gator recruiting hit full stride on Jan. 5, when Chris Leak, the Charlotte Independence quarterback who many consider to be the nation's top recruit, used halftime of a nationally televised high school all-star game to "invite the best players in the country to join me at Florida and win a national championship."

It will end Wednesday evening, when two prized recruits, Tallahassee defensive back Antonio Cromartie and Tampa wide receiver Andre Caldwell, both of whom Leak has been calling, announce where they'll play live on SportsCenter at 6 p.m. ET.

It hasn't been an easy trek. Wickline told the story Tuesday about the day after the Gators' 31-14 loss to rival Florida State, when he and Zook arrived on a recruiting trip at a tiny airstrip in the south to find one rental car available. If you want to call it a rental car.

"Here I am, with the head coach, and we're driving around in this '82 Buick," he said. "The windshield was cracked. There was a hole in the roof. There were no hubcaps. And every time the car hit a bump, smoke went everywhere.

"I look at coach, and I'm like, 'It doesn't get any better than this.' "

But then again, there's always tomorrow.

Wayne Drehs is a staff writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at wayne.drehs@espn3.com