With our final nine states, we reached the point in our countdown where we assembled a full starting unit: 11 on offense, 11 defense, plus special teams. Illinois is No. 2.

Players Who Have Seen Action At Notre Dame: By our count 464 when linebacker Nyles Morgan (Crete) made his debut last season. That number is easily the most from any single state, even doubling Pennsylvania, our No. 3 state.

Most Recent To Sign Scholarship: This February Notre Dame inked receiver Miles Boykin (New Lenox), offensive lineman Trevor Ruhland (Cary) and defensive tackle Micah Dew-Treadway (Bolingbrook).

Top Player From Illinois: Johnny Lattner (Chicago) is Notre Dame's lone Heisman winner (1953) from Illinois, and he was joined by Florida's Tim Tebow (2007-2008) as the only two players in college football history to win the Maxwell Award twice.

In the trenches, George Connor (Chicago) of the 1940s dynasty had few peers and is one of only six players in Fighting Irish history to be enshrined in both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame.

Personnel Overview: Chicago, about 90 miles west from the campus, is Notre Dame football's second home. No single city in the United States has produced more Notre Dame icons and sheer volume (more than 230 players) to the school than Chicago and its outlying suburbs.

Quarterback: Tommy Rees (Lake Forest, 2010-13) or Rusty Lisch (Belleville, 1976-79)

Lisch became overshadowed by the enormous legend of Joe Montana, but he was good enough to play four years in the NFL. Rees helped salvage the 2010 season with a 4-0 finish as the starter, and then came off the bench to help win four games in 2012 that made a 12-0 regular season possible. With the state of Illinois having a similar dominant defense as the 2012 team, a combination of Lisch starting and Rees the fireman is workable.

Honorable mention to Tom Carey (Chicago, 1951-54), who split time with College Football Hall of Fame inductee Ralph Guglielmi while earning monograms all four years and helping the Irish to three top-4 finishes.

Running Back: John Lattner (Chicago, 1951-53), Jerome Heavens (East St. Louis, 1975-78)

Lattner would be effective in the slot (his 39 receptions averaged nearly 16 yards and included eight TDs) and he also was a top return man. Plus, his 13 career interceptions are tied for third-most at Notre Dame.

Tailback/fullback Heavens rushed for 756 yards as a freshman, still the most ever at Notre Dame in the regular season, and for the 1977 national champs he had 994 and added 101 more in the Cotton Bowl win over No. 1 Texas. As a senior, he broke George Gipp's 58-year-old career rushing record.

Second Team: Elmer Angsman (Chicago, 1943-45) and Joe Pliska (Chicago, 1911-14)

After leading the top-10 Irish in rushing as a senior with 616 yards and 7.1 yards per carry, Angsman became part of the NFL "Dream Backfield" for the champion Chicago Cardinals. The Pro Bowl player still holds the NFL record for yards per carry in a postseason game (15.9), scoring on two 70-yard runs in the 1947 NFL title win.

Pliska was a three-year starter who scored twice in the legendary 1913 win over Army while also catching more than 70 yards in passes.

Fullbacks were especially prominent from Illinois with stars such as Mario Tonelli (Chicago, 1937-39), Corwin Clatt (East Peoria, 1942, 1946-47), 1962 team captain Mike Lind (Chicago, 1960-62), Joe Farrell (Chicago, 1962-64) and Bill Barz (Country Club Hills, 1968-70).

Andy Pilney (Chicago, 1933-35) had the game of a lifetime in the 1935 upset of Ohio State, and Don Hogan (Chicago, 1962) led the team in rushing as a sophomore before a serious vehicular accident ended his playing career.

Billy Barrett (Chicago, 1949-51) and Bill Gay (Chicago, 1947-50) both contributed in various capacities, while head coach Brian Kelly described Robert Hughes (Chicago, 2007-10) as one of the most improved players he's ever coached.

Receivers: Knute Rockne (Chicago, 1911-13) and Dan Shannon (Chicago, 1952-54)

Rockne served as the team captain for the unbeaten 1913 Irish while earning third-team All-America notice from Collier's on a team that put the football program on the national map. His pass catching prowess propelled a 35-13 upset of superpower Army and helped revolutionize the game. He can be the "player-coach" for this team too.

Shannon also was a team captain and received second-team All-America notice Sporting News. He was such a devastating tackler that it overshadowed his 20 yards per reception during his career. His grandson, John (Wilmette), will enroll next year as a long-snapper

Roger Kiley (Chicago, 1919-21) tasted defeat only once in his three seasons at end. DaVaris Daniels' (Vernon Hills, 2011-13) caught 80 passes his last two years with the Irish before academic woes ended his career.

Tight End: Ed "Moose" Krause (1930-33)

Krause was a tackle, but he would be a classic tight end today with his size and mobility. A second-team AP football All-American, Krause also was one of the first of the dominant big men in college basketball history, a sport in which he was a rare three-time consensus All-American and was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1976.

Honorable mention to Dick Prendergast (Homewood, 1955-57), a 1957 co-captain.

Offensive Line: Zygmont "Ziggy" Czarobski (Chicago, 1942-43, 1946-47), Bill "Moose" Fischer (Chicago 1945-48), Joseph Edward Beinor (Harvey, 1936-38), Tim Grunhard (Chicago,1986-89), Bert Metzger (Chicago, 1928-30)

The "City of Brother Shoulders" has been best manifested at Notre Dame with its plethora of linemen.

Czarobski and Fischer helped anchor Notre Dame's glory years in the 1940s at tackle and guard, respectively, and both are enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. Outland Trophy winner Fischer is revered for starting as a 19-year-old sophomore on the 1946 national champions that featured World War II veterans who were several years his senior.

Metzger was on Rockne's 1929 and 1930 national champs and joined Czarobski and Fischer in the Hall of Fame in 1982. Joseph Edward Beinor was a two-time first-team All-American, unanimous in 1938 while also finishing ninth in the Heisman race.

Grunhard embodied the team's toughness during a school record 23-game winning streak, and he also started for a decade as a center for the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs.

Second Team: Marty Wendell (Chicago, 1944, 1946-48), Tom Thayer (Joliet, 1979-82), Mirko Jurkovic (Calumet City, 1988-91), Lou Rymkus (Chicago, 1940-42), George Trafton (Chicago, 1919)

Wendell started on the 1947-48 juggernauts, while three-year starter Thayer lined up at guard tackle and center, earning Team MVP honors as a senior before an 11-year pro career. Like Thayer, the late Jurkovic began his career on defense before developing into a consensus All-American. Rymkus became a four-time All-Pro who NFL icon Paul Brown described as the best pass blocker he had ever seen.

Trafton was the center on Rockne's first unbeaten team and is credited as the first center in history to snap with one hand. From 1920-32 he was one of the elite players during the NFL's infancy, earning Pro Football Hall of Fame honors.

Third Team: Jack Fallon (Alton, 1944-48), Chris Watt (Glen Ellyn, 2010-13), Lindsay Knapp (Deerfield, 1989-92), Maurice "Clipper" Smith (Momence, 1917-20), Frank Rydzewski (Chicago, 1915-17)

Defensive Line: Chris Zorich (Chicago, 1987-90), Bryant Young (Chicago Heights, 1990-93), Scott Zettek (Elk Grove Village, 1976-80) and Charles Sweeney (Bloomington, 1935-37)

Zorich enrolled as a linebacker, but by his sophomore year he became a centerpiece at nose tackle with his ferocity and production during an Irish renaissance that led to a surprising national title. The Lombardi Award winner was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame before turning 40.

Young also enrolled as a linebacker but started along the line by his sophomore year and later helped propel a 17-game winning streak. The No. 7 overall pick in the 1994 NFL Draft was a four-time All-Pro pick during a stellar 15-year pro career. Zettek was a prime contributor as a sophomore for the 1977 national champs and, despite two major knee surgeries, a first-team AP All-America end on the dominant 1980 defense that set a school record for consecutive quarters not allowing a TD (23). Sweeney was a consensus All-American as a senior and won several games with his prowess at blocking kicks and punts.

Second Team: Jeff Alm (Orland Park, 1986-89), Gary Potempa (Niles, 1971-73), Ralph McGehee (Chicago, 1946-49), Renaldo Wynn (Chicago, 1993-96).

Alm recorded 124 tackles (14 for loss) and four interceptions to earn All-America notice during the record 23-game winning streak; Potempa was a hybrid nose-guard/middle linebacker for the 1973 national champs while placing second in tackles; McGehee started on two unbeaten teams; Gibson was part of a 17-game winning streak before a 10-year NFL career.

Third Team: Ten-year NFL veteran Oliver Gibson (Romeoville, 1990-94), three-year starter Darrell Campbell (South Holland, 2000-03), former captain Brian Hamilton (Chicago, 1991-94) and Chet Ostroski (Chicago, 1949-51), who played six years in the NFL.

Linebackers: George Connor (Chicago,1946-47), Tony Furjanic (Chicago, 1982-85), Mark Zavagnin (Evergreen Park, 1979-82)

Connor was the first recipient of the Outland but he also helped revolutionize the linebacker position in the NFL when he was moved there to combine his speed with his 6-3 frame. Famed sportswriter Grantland Rice said ''Connor is the closest thing to a Greek god since Apollo.''

Furjanic is the fifth all-time leading tackler at the school (361). His 147 tackles in 1985 and 142 in 1983 remain the two highest single season totals at Notre Dame the past 30-plus years. Zavagnin recorded 332 stops, recovered eight fumbles, broke up 10 passes and intercepted seven, earning third-team AP All-America notice as a senior.

Second-Team: Pete Bercich (Mokena, 1990-93), Darius Fleming (Chicago, 2008-11), Mike Goolsby (Joliet, 2001-04)

Bercich and Fleming were both three-year starters, and Bercich went on to enjoy a seven-year NFL career. Goolsby led the Top-10 ranked 2002 defense in tackles for loss (13) and was third in tackles with 75, and he paced the 2004 unit with 97 stops.

Corey Mays (Chicago, 2002-05) didn't start until his final season but he was second in tackles and then played six years in the NFL.

Defensive Backfield: Nick Rassas (Winnetka, 1963-65), Tony Carey (Chicago, 1963-65), Stan Smagala (Burbank, 1986-89) and Tom Zbikowski (Arlington Heights, 2004-07)

Walk-on Rassas and converted QB Carey became playmakers during the resurrection campaign in 1964 under first-year head coach Ara Parseghian, with Carey (Tom's younger brother) intercepting eight passes. Rassas was a consensus All-American in 1965 with six interceptions for a school record 197 yards, and also led the nation in punt returns with 459 yards and a 19.1 average.

From the same high school and class as Grunhard, the unheralded Smagala became a three-year starter during another Notre Dame revival. Zbikowski recorded 300 career tackles, the most ever by an Irish defensive back, and scored six TDs on interception, fumble or punt returns.

Second Team: Mike Swistowicz (Chicago, 1946-49), Tim Rudnick (Chicago, 1971-73), George Streeter (Chicago, 1985-88), Glenn Earl (Lisle, 2000-03)

All but Earl started on a national title team (with Rudnick a walk-on), but the playmaking Earl had the longest NFL career with six years.

Special Teams: Craig Hentrich (Godfrey, 1989-92) as kicker and punter

Hentrich's 39 career field goals are the fourth most in school history, while his 44.1 punting average is No. 1. He became one of the NFL's greatest punters ever during a 16-year career in which he was twice All-Pro.

Honorable mention to Nicholas Setta (Lockport, 2000-02), who also kicked and punted.

Deciding among Lattner, Rassas or Zbikowski as your return men would be a pleasant task.

The Recruiting Future

Notre Dame will never again recruit the Chicago Catholic leagues, or the overall city, like it did up until the late 1980s because many a recruiting demographic has changed. Sixty or 70 years ago it was not uncommon to have a dozen or more Chicago-area recruits in the same class. Still, the city is Notre Dame's second home and will forever be a prime base area, including the aforementioned Shannon and cornerback Julian Love (LaGrange Park) already issuing verbals for 2016.

The warm-weather states are like the sultry temptress that will be more alluring, but Illinois is Notre Dame's proverbial girl next door you can count on so often - and she too can often set the heart aflutter.