Tim Beckman's initial analysis of the roster he inherited at Illinois turned up one area of concern that was obvious on the surface. Another required a little digging to recognize.

After the Illini lost their top two running backs, there was a need to reload, and quickly. And although Illinois will return an abundance of experienced defensive backs, Beckman saw a need for depth.

Those became the focal points of his first recruiting class as a Big Ten head coach, and the Illini announced the addition of three running backs and six defensive backs among 19 players who signed letters of intent Wednesday.

The program's running game was the most consistent strength during Ron Zook's tenure. Next year the tradition will fall on a young group of ball carriers led by returning sophomore Donovonn Young.

His backups will include freshmen LaKeith Walls from Cleveland, Devin Church (Bloomfield, Mich.) and Dami Ayoola (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.).

"With the lack of numbers at the tailback position, we needed to get three," Beckman said. "Dami was the first to come and he's fabulous, no question. LaKeith lines up at running back, and Devin we'll use as more of an athlete. … You have to make sure you have depth at that position. Even in the bowl game that was a concern. So we felt it was necessary."

Illinois will have six running backs on scholarship entering the fall. Getting to that number required that Church and Walls sign with the Illini after committing to other schools.

Walls was headed to North Carolina State before changing his mind. Church originally picked Northern Illinois.

They opted for a program that has produced three NFL running backs in the last six years, including Rashard Mendenhall, Pierre Thomas and Mikel LeShoure.

Walls is the most physically imposing at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds. Church brings the most impressive stats, having rushed for 1,919 yards as a high school senior, including 244 in the state championship game. He brings the most versatility and can line up at receiver, Beckman said. And Ayoola was rated the 18th best running back in the country by MaxPreps.

They will join Josh Ferguson in competing for carries behind Young, who rushed for 451 yards, 5.2 yards per carry and six touchdowns as a freshman. All are rated three-star recruits, as are most of the Illini's signees.

"At Toledo we had guys who weren't ranked very high, but we won a lot of games and put them in situations to play for (conference) championships," Beckman said. "I've had players that won (major) awards that were two stars. So the stars are only rated after their college career."

The stockpiling of defensive backs was more unexpected, but Beckman said they can provide an assortment of skills. He said some ultimately could switch positions.

Ta'Jarvis Fuller (Fort Myers, Fla.) is on campus as an early enrollee along with tight end Daniel Rhodes (Charlotte, N.C.). The assortment of cornerbacks and safeties includes Taylor Barton (Orlando, Fla.), B.J. Bello (New Lenox, Ill.), V'Angelo Bentley (Cleveland), Justin Hardee (Cleveland) and Jevaris Little (St. Petersburg, Fla.).

They will have trouble earning playing time as freshmen because of the Illini's experience. They return corners Terry Hawthorne and Justin Green, along with safeties Supo Sani and Steve Hull, all of whom have started.

But there could be opportunities on punt and kickoff returns, areas where the Illini have struggled for several seasons.

"Coming in, I wasn't very impressed with the numbers," Beckman said. "It's not the players we have. They're very good. But it could be a direct reflection of some things special-teams wise. So, we've got six and a couple could be receivers. We looked for skill and were able to get some skill."

Beckman was unable to land many players from Chicago because that area had been picked over by the time he was hired. However, he was pleased that the Illini grabbed 13 within a five-hour radius of Champaign, his area of focus. Six came from Ohio.

However, the Illini also tapped into Florida and picked up five players, including well-regarded defensive tackle Teko Powell (Miami).