They're from The Lou, and they're proud -- to be coming to Illinois. Plus other recruiting news from The Mag's Bruce Feldman.

Illinois may have had a disappointing season on the field, but the Illini are poised to have a monster year in the recruiting game. The big reason? Assistant Greg McMahon, a holdover from the Lou Tepper Era, is dominating in the St. Louis area.

Two years ago, McMahon scored a major coup by getting game-breaking WR Brandon Lloyd and dynamic QB/KR Christian Morton out of The Lou. Last year, McMahon landed hard-hitting safety Kevin Anderson, top WR Jamaal Clark and QB Mark Kornfeld, the region's top passer. But this winter, the Illini have a good shot at locking up nine of the St. Louis area's top 10 players, led by big-hitting LB Matt Sinclair. The Illini have 24 verbals and expect to cap off a top 10 class with game-breaking RB Damian Nash, who is a former teammate of Morton and Clark's at Riverview Garden HS. "If they lock Nash up," says one recruiter, "this could be the second-best class in the Big Ten (behind Michigan) and a lot of that credit should go to McMahon. He's killing everyone down there."

Well Heeled

New UNC coach John Bunting is quickly making a good impression. Even though Bunting was unable to land QB D.J. Shockley, the strong-armed Georgia native told ESPNMAG.com he was wowed during last weekend's visit to Chapel Hill. And if the Heels' new regime was up and running sooner (and if Shockley wasn't so tired of the recruiting scene), he might be still thinking hard about Chapel Hill.

As for his current squad, Bunting made a smart move by delaying spring practice until after basketball season, thus allowing QB Ronald Curry and DE Julius Peppers to participate fully. That's vital for Curry, who will enter his senior season with his third offensive coordinator in four years.

Blowin' Up

One of the best stories of this recruiting season has been the dramatic rise of Matt Roth. A year ago, the Chicagoan was a fast but undersized 6-2, 190-pound LB, drawing little interest. Then, Roth opted to put aside the Hefty bags and plastic suits and sat out the wrestling season to avoid cutting weight. The results? Thanks to an 8000-calorie diet, Roth is now 6-4, 242 -- and he still runs a 4.6. And the guy who once sent out 30 highlight tapes has blossomed into the most sought-after linebacker recruit in the country.

But Roth is not going to Florida. He told ESPNMAG.com he thinks UF looks too crowded with DEs, so he's making Nebraska his fifth visit. Roth has visited Purdue, K-State, Miami and Iowa.

Quick Slants

NC State continues to tear up Florida. Chuck Amato has long-time Sunshine State recruiting ace Doc Holliday and DB coach Chris Demarest -- a fiery former Seminole G.A. -- working feverishly to blanket the state, and the results could be overwhelming. The 'Pack could get as many as 13 kids from Florida, and are now waging big battles against Miami and Tennessee. The most intriguing is for CB Julian Battle, who UT thought it had locked up. The 'Pack is telling the 6-3, 210-pound Battle he could be a starter (and a star) right away in Raleigh and that has given the Floridian reason to reconsider. Keep in mind, Demarest has already landed two of Battle's teammates from L.A. Valley College.

Arkansas had a huge get this week, landing Harding Academy (Ark.) LB Jeb Huckeba. The fleet-footed 6-5, 215-pounder was rumored to be leaning to FSU, but the school the Hogs had to beat was D-II Harding University, where Huckeba's father is the defensive coordinator. Huckeba, the first blue-chipper to commit to the Razorbacks, couldn't bare the thought of being in Tallahassee, 12 hours away from his family.

Bruce Feldman covers college football for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at bruce.feldman@espnmag.com.