RECRUITING TERRITORY

[BenEClone]

I've seen a number of posts suggesting that recruiting in Texas is a factor for the new football coach. I'm not sure that I agree. There are good players all over the country. USC and CAL don't focus on Texas, neither do Florida and FSU, LSU, Ohio State, Michigan, etc. I want a coach who can get into the living room of a 4/5 star player, wherever he is from, and convince him to come to ISU.

[superfan]

I see where you're coming from.

Here's my thing. I've always said that for a football team to be successful they have to recruit out of one, or all of three places...

1.) Texas
2.) Cal
3.) Florida

IMO, these three states are the places where a slight majority of the really good (4 or 5 star) players come from. There are a lot of good players in other places, yes. There's good football in other places, such as

The Southeast
New York/New Jersey
Ohio/Michigan

The reason why a lot of the teams you mentioned are good is because they hold a dominant position in recruiting in their area. Look up the rosters of Michigan and OSU. Most of their players come from Michigan or, especially, Ohio. LSU's roster is mostly kids from Louisiana. Auburn recruits primarily from Georgia, Louisiana and Alabama. Florida, FSU, and Miami take the Florida kids. USC, Cal, Oregon, and the rest of the Pac-10 mine California.

The reason a lot of people want someone who can recruit Texas is you have to recruit in your area. A kid at a Texas school more than likely watches Big XII football. He sees Iowa State playing teams like Texas (also A&M and Tech), Nebraska, Colorado, Oklahoma. It's going to be easier to go down to Texas and try to sell Iowa State to a four- or five-star recruit than it is to go over to California or Florida, where the kid watches ACC, Pac-10, or SEC ball. Why leave and go to Iowa State when you can play close to home at a powerhouse like a Florida or USC, or even for a smaller school like an Oregon State or a USF?

Unfortunately, we're in a position where our location can be a disadvantage. I'm not going to run the numbers, but I'm willing to bet the proportion of four- to five-star recruits coming out of Iowa is a lot smaller than that of California, for example. We don't have the population for it, and if there is a big recruit, we have to fight off Iowa, Nebraska, or possibly Michigan and Wisconsin along with the rest of the Big 10 for him.

Wow...that was long-winded

[uthaman]

Texas is Big XII country. We HAVE to have someone that can recruit that state!! We have a much better chance getting a kid to come to Ames from Texas than we do from Florida. Why? A couple of reasons. One, because we are about a million times more likely to be on TV in a Big XII state than in a non conference state. And two, every year we can guarantee we will play a game somewhere in the state of Texas that the boy's mama can drive to see her son.

[isucy86]

...I want a coach who can get into the living room of a 4/5 star player, wherever he is from, and convince him to come to ISU.

If you were a 4/5 star player (not from the state of Iowa), would you choose to go to a Notre Dame, Texas, Michigan, Southern Cal, etc, etc. or would you choose an Iowa State program that is coming off a 1-7 Big 12 campaign and bascially 1 season in the last 30 where it has gone over .500 in conference?

The reality is the new coach will need to have an eye for under recruited players. He will need to bring in 2 & 3 star recruits and develop his share into All Big 12 caliber players. He will need to do that for 3-4 years. If he can develop ISU into a consistent 8+ win team then ISU moves up to a team that will get a few 4 star kids, but the core of the program will be 3 star kids who develop into All Big 12 performers.

Most 4&5 star kids come from states that have at least 1 big time program and they are far more likely to attend schools they have watched growing up, their parents have attended and they can play close to family/friends. Until the state of Iowa puts out 8-10 4 or 5 star FB players each year, ISU and the Hawks will have to build their success on overachievers.

[HardcoreClone]

I've seen a number of posts suggesting that recruiting in Texas is a factor for the new football coach. I'm not sure that I agree. There are good players all over the country. USC and CAL don't focus on Texas, neither do Florida and FSU, LSU, Ohio State, Michigan, etc. I want a coach who can get into the living room of a 4/5 star player, wherever he is from, and convince him to come to ISU.

You are right, all of those schools don't foucs on Texas, they focus on their OWN fertile recruiting grounds. All of those schools you mentioned have access to great recruiting areas, which is why they are the top programs in the country. Everyone talks about ISU's coach needing ties to Texas because that is in our conference, and we have a better shot at getting players from there than other places of the country. Do I wish ISU could recruit better at different places? Absolutely. Illinois has great recruits, but it is just so dominated by the Big 10 and Notre Dame. Missouri has some good talent, but it is also tough going against the only major school in the state, as well as both the Big 10 and Big 12.

Unfortunately in the near future, ISU just won't be able to go anywhere in the country and get some of the top players. In my opinion, ISU is the easily the toughest school to recruit to in the Big 12 for a number of reasons, and I think we would be much better suited for the Big 10, but that is whole other discussion in itself and we have to play with the hand we are dealt.

[wheels686]

we need to recruit texas and get some quality players from there. it would be nice to snag a few from florida as well. I agree with you superfan. those are the best football states. i just hope we get a coach who can also snag the top players from iowa and away from the hawkeyes. it would help if the new coach could get bernstine. he seems to want to stay close to home but favors the hawkeyes and were not even in his top 5. i wonder if theres any possibility with a new coach?