Parade Magazine has named East St. Louis High’s Terry Hawthorne the top high school receiver in the country. Now the question is whether he’ll be signing next week with Illinois.

Hawthorne committed long ago to the Illini but has indicated that he is considering Oklahoma after making a campus visit to check in with Sam Bradford and Company. Meanwhile, the confusion over receiver Kraig Appleton, Hawthorne’s teammate at East St. Louis, continues to swirl despite his long-ago committment to the Illini.

The Parade write-up about Hawthorne includes the line: “He’ll next be seen at the University of Illinois.” Illinois can only hope at this point. Recruiting analyst Tom Lemming said this week that Hawthorne is the best player in the state and a top-50 player nationally.

A source said that Illinois has not received any indication that Hawthorne will not sign and at this point the school plans to send him a letter of intent.

Rivals rates him the sixth-best receiver in the country and No. 58 overall and Scout rates him No. 11 among receivers.

Hawthorne had 48 catches for 1,009 yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior. He also had three rushing touchdowns and one on a punt return. But he was just as good on defense as a safety and was named the Post-Dispatch’s defensive player of the year.

He had eight interceptions, including seven in the playoffs, returning four for touchdowns. He led the Flyers with 118 tackles. And for good measure, Hawthorne averaged 44.8 yards on 24 punt attempts.

Then there’s Appleton, who didn’t visit Illinois last weekend as expected. He also skipped out recently on the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, a game Lemming is involved with. Lemming was told Appleton didn’t attend because he was afraid to fly. But he was among those completely uncertain about where Appleton might land.

“No one has a clue,” he said. “Sometimes these guys really aren’t worth the trouble.”

East St. Louis coach Darren Sunkett did not respond to a phone message.