General FB Recruiting Question

[Clone9]

Something I've been wondering about....

Does anyone think that, in the first year or two, the staff will have an easier time recruiting defensive players because of Chizik's reputation as a defensive guru? I mean, if I'm a high school kid being recruited by ISU, and Chizik can point to his extreme success as defensive coordinator at Auburn and Texas, I would feel as though the defense will be in very good hands.

While on the offensive side of the ball, all McFarland can point to is Stephen F Austin, which is much less convincing that Auburn or Texas. I'm certainly not saying that I don't have faith in McFarland and Chizik's ability to come up with an effective offense, it's just a bit less proven at this point, and I'm wondering if this will affect recruiting.

Finally, even if my thoughts are correct, this is definitely not a bad thing. I'd much rather have an incredibly tenacious defense, especialy since we've struggled on that side of the ball in the past. Also, other than the offensive line (which I've heard is McFarland's specialty), we've got big-time playmakers on offense that will allow the staff to demonstrate to recruits exactly what their philosophy will be.

[Jeremy]

I think a new coaching staff has benefits and some things that count against them.

Obviously they have the excitement and promise of a bright future and they bring in their reputations of where they were before hand. In our case, that's defense. I'm sure we'll have an easier time in the short run recruiting defensive guys and hopefully that leads to a strong foundation to build on.

On the other hand, young kids often start looking at schools far before they start looking at them and a new coach sometimes has to be in place for a couple years before they start to be seen by the better recruits that start to make decisions earlier in their high school careers.

In the end, I think we have an advantage on D but I don't know that we have an advantage or disadvantage on the O side. You could probably argue we have an advantage because of the hype and promise, but only time will tell.

Just my personal opinion.

[darts180]

This is a tough question. We don't have a lot of prestige, nationally, and kids want to be winning games on TV.

Basically, these coaches are going to have to find sleepers, and kids that were overlooked, and coach the hell out of them for a while. Get a couple BIG wins (I know we haven't seen them in a while, but they have these things called upsets, maybe you have heard of them, they have been around for a long time-David over Goliath), and have proof that you can win, then the bigger recruits will start to show some genuine interest.