Football

Williams Blog: Instant reaction to new WR’s coach

By Chris Williams, CycloneFanatic.com PublisherFollow Chris on Twitter @ChrisMWilliams

I have never met Todd Sturdy. Before today, I had never heard of him.

But based off of about a half hour of research, I love Paul Rhoads’ hire as Iowa State’s new wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator.

Why?

Well first, he’s an Iowan. Sturdy, who is a Tipton native, comes to Ames from a recent stint as Washington State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. That ended when Paul Wulff was fired at the end of the season and Mike Leach took over.

According to the Quad City Times, Sturdy accepted a job as Montana State’s offensive coordinator just last week.

Is the fact that he’s a native Iowan that big of a deal you ask? In my opinion, yes actually.

It’s evident that Sturdy wants to return to his home state and according to the quotes in Iowa State’s press release, he wants to work for Paul Rhoads. Staff continuity is a very big thing.

In addition to that, Sturdy is a west coast guy. You know who else was a west coast guy don’t you? That’d be the recently departed Bob Elliott. This hire helps fill that void on the recruiting trail in my opinion.

Sturdy’s pass offense at Washington State last year was ranked ninth in America to end the season. He coached quarterbacks there as well.

This is all surface level stuff, but I think this is a very sound hire by Paul Rhoads.

@cyclonefanatic