In state FB prospects for 2008?

johnsonjj · 02-09-2007, 08:40 AM

I live out of state (ok, out of the country actually) so don't see lots of the local news. Now the the smoke has cleared on the 2007 FB class, and coaches have publically stated recruits from state of Iowa of quality will be a focus, who are those recruits at this point that are focused on for next year in Iowa? Names - position - school?

isucyclone4 · 02-09-2007, 09:19 AM

We only had 2 instate recruits in a class of 24 this year, A. Sandvig & F. Brown.

Not much period in the way of "prospects" for 2008 (obvs. still very earlier, but some will say its never too early). But some in the state of iowa include:

Ben Cotton TE, Ames High (son of former coach Barney Cotton, so don't EXPECT him to go to ISU)
Steven Staggs WR, Oskaloosa HS
James Vandenberg QB, Keokuk
Joe Johnson RB, W D.M.
Dan Hoch OT, Harlan (verbal to Nebraska already)
Alex Petersen OG, Indianola
Tyler Wells OG, D.M.
Jake McDonough DE, W D.M.
Willie Argo S, Davenport
Kellyn Fogarty ATHL, Marshalltown
Grant Mahoney K, Marion

In pretty much all situations ISU is competing against iowa and UNI for these guys. I believe recruiting in the state of iowa is important, but I think out of state is much more important, are we gonna set up pipelines to florida, oklahoma, texas? I am 100% sure Chizik already knows this and is already doing so.

PolkCityClone · 02-09-2007, 09:44 AM

Personally, I don't care if we have any Iowa players on the team. I want the best players on the field regardless of where they are from. Owning Iowa is no the coup Mac thought it was.

benjay · 02-09-2007, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by PolkCityClone

Personally, I don't care if we have any Iowa players on the team. I want the best players on the field regardless of where they are from. Owning Iowa is no the coup Mac thought it was.

Ever hear of Brett Meyer and Todd Blythe? Jordan Carstens and Sage Rosenfels?

Iowa produces some great athletes, and we need to get them.

Wesley · 02-09-2007, 09:49 AM

I would like to see some from California, Alabama and Mississippi also.

isumellie · 02-09-2007, 09:50 AM

Originally Posted by benjay

Ever hear of Brett Meyer and Todd Blythe? Jordan Carstens and Sage Rosenfels?

Iowa produces some great athletes, and we need to get them.

I agree with you that Iowa can produce some great athletes and we should go after them. The only problem that I see is thinking that we have to have a certain number of in-state recruits to make our class acceptable. If Chizik just goes after the best overal athletes that we can get I would be happy, some of them might be in Iowa and others may not.

isucyclone4 · 02-09-2007, 09:52 AM

like i said iowa is important, but I don't think its as important as mac made it seem, i agree with you on that polkcity, but benjay is right that we've had some great ones from this state. The thing is being able to analyze talent and pick up the ones you REALLY need, because I think we're gonna have a lot of classes like this one where only 2 out of 20+ players are from iowa, it might be 2, 3, 4, or 5, but in the overall scheme you do have to realize that iowa is not a recruiting HOTBED in football, its not a place for scrubs either, but on average the best players to find in iowa are lineman. California, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma are all hotbeds at every postition, and those are the reason we hired Mr. Chizik.

Brady12 · 02-09-2007, 12:48 PM

Ok i'm a hawkeye so bring on the negative reps, but this thread caught my eye.

I agree somewhat that recruiting in Iowa isn't all that and recruits from the coasts and south seem way more enticing to have. But what i do think is important about getting recruits from here within the state is their attitude and work ethic. To me it's second to none. How many kids have you seen from this state who weren't all that and a bag of chips coming out of H.S. work their ***** off and make something of themselves out pure determination and sweat?

How many 4 star talent hogs have you seen sit back on their talent and let their ego's do the driving?

I think Iowa kids bring alot to the table in terms of encouragment and team unity. Alot of which has to do with thier midwest up bringing. So while Recruiting in IOWA might not be a huge factor in terms of raw talent. I think it's important for raw emotion and drive to work hard and make ones self the best one can be. And that usually reflects on the team.

BryceC · 02-09-2007, 12:58 PM

That's a good point Brady. But I'd rather recruit guys who can compete that are Iowans than guys who are not Big 12 players and just eat up a scholarship.

Not trying to sound like a jerk here, but we've had PLENTY of those Iowans at ISU.

rte4st8 · 02-09-2007, 01:05 PM

Better add Adam Robinson from DSM Lincoln to that list. He is as solid as Berstine if not better.

Brady12 · 02-09-2007, 01:06 PM

I can agree with that. I didn't mean just give players form iowa scholarships though. I meant getting those guys from iowa that really are good players, do alot for a team.

kurimski · 02-09-2007, 01:09 PM

Ever hear of Brett Meyer and Todd Blythe? Jordan Carstens and Sage Rosenfels?

Iowa produces some great athletes, and we need to get them.

I've heard of them. Have you ever heard of Brandon Cook? Josh Griebahn? Kurtis Taylor? John Tjaden? Beaeu Klaffke? Colin Menard? The list goes on and on. For every Bret Meyer there is 5 players like this. If you've ever watched football in Texas or Oklahoma or anywhere but Iowa you will realize that Iowa football isn't anything special at all. It's fun to watch and all but no where near as much talent. Why would we want ISU coaches searching all accross Iowa for talent when there are maybe 10 players total at best that deserve NCAA scholarships when a coach can go to Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, and so on and find 100's of kids with more talent? I say forget in state recruiting for the most part (get maybe 2 or 3 GOOD kids a year) and spend most of the time in other states.

darts180 · 02-09-2007, 01:15 PM

See that is another thing that bothered me about the previous coach. I understand that he wasn't getting into a lot of big time recruits houses, but he threw so many scholarships to guys that didn't have the credentials to play in the Big 12. And the vast majority of those were Iowa kids.

Yes he uncovered some diamonds in the rough, but a LOT of those kids walked on.

Don't get me wrong, if there is a player in this state who can help us, then by all means let's get him. However, too many times in the past we gave scholarships to Iowa kids because it was good pr. That way, instead of saying that we under-recruited, and then working hard to correct it, we can blame the budget and facilities.

ScottyP · 02-09-2007, 01:33 PM

There are some talented players in the state of Iowa but they are fewer in number and a lot more difficult to find. Don't forget some of the best players to come from the state of Iowa were walk-ons (example: Lane Danielsen, Jordan Carstens, Dallas Clarke). Chizik needs to let these kids know that ISU is an option for them, while getting recruits from all over the country. Bring in the best players for your team whether its in Florida, Texas, or Iowa.

A-town Cy · 02-09-2007, 01:42 PM

That'd be great to get Joe Johnson, just add to the list of Valley kids.