Head football coach Jerry Kill has been out on the road recruiting the last few weeks, helping to put the finishing touches on NIU’s 2009 recruiting class.

All the hard work led up to National Signing Day on Wednesday, when Kill announced that 24 players will join the Huskie football program this fall as part of Kill’s second recruiting class as NIU head coach.

“I want to thank everyone that was involved in the recruiting process,” Kill said. “I really think that we did a great job as a team recruiting this class.”

The 24-player class features 10 players from Illinois and also features six players hailing from Florida.

Kill says the coaching staff has built connections with high school coaches in Florida after recruiting the talent-rich state in the past.

“We’ve recruited those areas,” Kill said. “There’s a base there; there’s a connection there. We know the coaches.”

The class also features two players each from Texas and Wisconsin, and one each from Missouri, Ohio, Indiana and Arizona.

It is unknown how good the class actually will be until four or five years down the road, but so far NIU is rated well.

Rivals.com rates NIU’s class fifth in the MAC. The last two seasons, Rivals has rated NIU’s class dead last in the conference.

Three of NIU’s recruits — quarterback A.J. Hill (DuQuoin, Ill.), defensive back Chris Smith (Palmetto, Fla.) and defensive end Anthony Wells (North Chicago, Ill.) are rated as three star recruits by Rivals.

Rivals gives recruits a rating between one and five stars, with most MAC recruits having a two-star grade. The Huskies have not had a three-star recruit since 2006.

Two recruits, Hill and kicker Ryan Salerno (Orland Park, Ill.) have had brothers play for Kill, something the coach says helped in the recruiting process.

Hill’s brother Nick played quarterback for Kill at Southern Illinois, and Salerno’s brother Mike is currently NIU’s kicker.

“(A.J.’s) brother coached him this past year, so he knows a lot of things,” Kill said. “He used to come to practice so he knows how our coaching staff is.”

The future of how good the 2009 recruiting class will be five years down the road, when most of the players will be fifth-year seniors, is unknown. Some could be All-MAC selections, and some might transfer out. Only time will tell.