Big recruiting visit weekend

[CYVADER]

Looking at that class it was definitely a paper tiger - definitely proof of the saying "that's why they don't play games on paper." The only 4-star on that list that actually did anything was Austin Flynn. Face it - Hicks was a flameout and nothing ever came of the other guys. The only other guys that really came out of that class were Jon Davis, Ryan Kock, and Nick Leaders, and they were all 2-stars.

This is why I just don't buy into the "we must get mostly 3 and 4 stars if we ever dream of competing with the big boys." 2002 was evidence that stars are often misleading. I'd rather bring in a bunch of 2 and 3 star guys that are extremely coachable and are the "right" guys instead of a bunch of 3 and 4 star flameouts.

i am just surprised that mac pulled that type of class. don't remember any hype about it, but didn't follow recruiting then like i do now. even though that class didn't pan out, those kids had to be sought after by a lot of big name schools. don't want to start anything here and i know it's gonna, but i can't help but wonder how much mac and staff is responsible for this class not reaching its potential. maybe a lot of these kids didn't even make it here-i don't remember hearing a lot of those names get called

[CDN_Tailgater]

I dont buy into starts too much, but I'd rather have 4/3 star recruits then 2/ and no star recruits. The key is too get players that fit the system you are trying to field. Look at Kansas, they started 2 and 3 star recruits this year and look what it did. Talib was a 2 star and the kid is leaving early.

I know there is a ton of examples of 2 stars that do nothing, but if the kid is an athlete and has football smarts, that is all you need. The proper coaching of techniques will make him a top player along with proper strength and conditioning.

[CP44]

Looking at that class it was definitely a paper tiger - definitely proof of the saying "that's why they don't play games on paper." The only 4-star on that list that actually did anything was Austin Flynn. Face it - Hicks was a flameout and nothing ever came of the other guys. The only other guys that really came out of that class were Jon Davis, Ryan Kock, and Nick Leaders, and they were all 2-stars.

This is why I just don't buy into the "we must get mostly 3 and 4 stars if we ever dream of competing with the big boys." 2002 was evidence that stars are often misleading. I'd rather bring in a bunch of 2 and 3 star guys that are extremely coachable and are the "right" guys instead of a bunch of 3 and 4 star flameouts.

I completely agree. Players that are coachable can often outplay players that aren't

[CloneIce]

No crap. That 2002 class looks great on paper. I think everyone would be thrilled if we could get a class like that again. Except keep it togeather.

Yep. Looked great on paper. And totally sucked in real life, most of those 4* Jucos were total busts. Leaders and Curvey were great at 2* though.

This class really is ok though.... go back and compare the schools we used to lose recruits to under Mac, we'd always lose several to non-BCS schools. That isn't happening anymore. That also says to me we are recruiting better players who BCS schools want.

[CloneIce]

It wasn't Mac's fault (that they didn't develop, it was his fault for recruiting them), most didn't make it at all, or didn't last through spring ball and summer. I remember that Max Steward, that 4* LB never showed up and basically was AWOL, the coaches had no idea what happened to him, where he went, and couldn't get ahold of him. He just never showed.

[benjay]

We all hope for high star ratings, but at the end of the day, all that matters is production on the field. The geeks at scout.com don't decide who gets to be a good player.

[CDN_Tailgater]

I remember that Max Steward, that 4* LB never showed up and basically was AWOL, the coaches had no idea what happened to him, where he went, and couldn't get ahold of him. He just never showed.

He went to West Texas A&M...after a little google search.

Player Bio: Max Steward :: Football

[CTTB78]

Big BB crowd and win would be nice, but I'm hoping for 35F+, sunny, and no wind that day.

[bmuff]

Looking at that class it was definitely a paper tiger - definitely proof of the saying "that's why they don't play games on paper." The only 4-star on that list that actually did anything was Austin Flynn. Face it - Hicks was a flameout and nothing ever came of the other guys. The only other guys that really came out of that class were Jon Davis, Ryan Kock, and Nick Leaders, and they were all 2-stars.

This is why I just don't buy into the "we must get mostly 3 and 4 stars if we ever dream of competing with the big boys." 2002 was evidence that stars are often misleading. I'd rather bring in a bunch of 2 and 3 star guys that are extremely coachable and are the "right" guys instead of a bunch of 3 and 4 star flameouts.

Exactly. Hicks and Flynn were decent players, but nowhere near the best players at ISU during their years there. To me, good recruiting is about 1.Evaluation, 2.Retention, and 3.Development. You have to get kids that have talent, plus want to work and will stay at ISU (not get in trouble or flunk out).

Just one four star would probably jump our class up 10 spaces in the rankings. But if it is some JUCO who never sees campus, how does that help? I'm willing to give the staff the benefit of the doubt. If their evaluation is good and if the players stick around, then the class will be a success. And at that time, Chizik's recruits will automatically get better rankings because people will assume he is a good evaluator.

[Steve]

The real problem with the 02 class was the OL position. We had lost some good OL (Howard, Hannen, White) that year and needed to restock the position. Signed 8 OL - none were ever dominant, only 2 (Zehr, Pence) really contributed, most were busts or quitters. In his defense, I heard on more than one occasion that losing Wierson to injury was a big loss.

I remember watching the recruiting tape that year with a former Big 8 DL from a competing school. I was buying into the class ratings hype until his comment that the OL group had terrible footwork brought me back to reality. In hindsight, the footwork comment was spot-on.

[Nedrick]

Ok, here's another thing I just found. Kansas has all 3 star recruits and 1 4 star guy so far. Until this past year they were about as bad as us in recent memory. Even Baylor has a 4 star commit and Colorado has 7! These are the teams we are going up against folks. Just take a look at some of the commits the rest of the Big 12 has right now and most are littered with more 3+ star recruits while we have more 2 star than 3 star guys and not 1 4+ star commit. Other schools in the Big 12 are recruiting size and speed as well...

You have to consider the talent available to these schools. Kansas at least has the KC area plus whatever areas they hit hard (side note: heard last night that the receivers coach from KU is going to Lincoln to be the RB coach there. Had a great connection with Dallas too). Colorado has Denver and even though Baylor is a bottom-feeder, they're still in Texas.

[hoosman]

The '02 class followed two of our best seasons (2000 & 2001); the '08 class follows two of our recent worst seasons (2006 & 2007). If we win 6 and make a bowl, we'll see a boost in our recruiting.

[IsUaClone2]

I don't get much into recruiting but according to rivals.com here is where we stand in star ratings so far:

3 star recruits: 7
2 star recruits: 13
No stars listed: 1

Only 4 are ranked at their positions: Tiller (19) Benton (63) Grant (56) McDonough (47)

I don't put a ton of weight into the star system but I would hope we eventually get a couple 4 star guys in here and not so many 2 stars. Recruiting is a big part of turning this thing around and so far have we really done any better then we did under McCarney in that aspect? Time will tell I guess.

I think we are recruiting better. Unfortunately the competition is not standing still. The real question is are we improving in recruiting at a faster rate than our competition? My guess is that we are closer to holding our own than moving past the others. Given that point, as many have said, it will be up to the coaching. I do think our improvement rate in the area of coaching is greater than the others. We should do better but perhaps not at the pace we would like. This is going to be a slugfest.

[CYdTracked]

You have to consider the talent available to these schools. Kansas at least has the KC area plus whatever areas they hit hard (side note: heard last night that the receivers coach from KU is going to Lincoln to be the RB coach there. Had a great connection with Dallas too). Colorado has Denver and even though Baylor is a bottom-feeder, they're still in Texas.

See I don't buy this theory. The entire country is available to you if you can recruit. For instance using our basketball program for an example our best players are from Corsicana, Texas Queens, NY, Palmdale, CA and even 2 guys orginally from other countries although Jiri played at Marshalltown CC and Staiger at an acadamy in Illinois. Hasn't hurt the BB program from going after big recruits. Fizer and Tinsley weren't local products were they?

Yes it helps that for instance Ohio and Texas kids like to go to schools in their own state but we have immediate playing time available at a lot of positions. Kansas' QB Reesing is from Texas and their top 3 WR's from Oklahoma and Texas as well. Their RBs are local products but we can't have this mentality that our location limits us. Yeah blue chippers may not come here but it shouldn't stop us from aiming high. Chizik is supposed to have these strong recruiting ties from his days at Texas and Auburn I thought. I see a bulk of these commits are from Texas and Florida which is a plus, I was just hoping we'd see some bigger recruits coming in with the change in coaches and we wouldn't be ranked near the bottom in recruiting once again once signing day comes.

[ajk4st8]

No crap. That 2002 class looks great on paper. I think everyone would be thrilled if we could get a class like that again. Except keep it togeather.

That 2002 was our worst class ever. Cost us long term. Lots of overhyped Jucos who NEVER even wore a Cyclone uni