Talent (not as long as it looks)

[cyfan15]

Talent is something that gets talked about a lot on ISU message boards. Some say our talent level is too low, while others say our talent level is higher than people think and coaching is the problem. Obviously the two are tied together in many ways, as talent must be developed by coaches, and coaches have to put their players in the best position to succeed.

Let’s take a look at our talent level for a moment. Understand that talent level is about more than just quality. Quantity, experience, and talent at key positions play a huge role. It all starts on the lines, so let’s look at the last five years of recruiting on the offensive line.

2004

Jordan Goos
Didn’t last long, never played

Brandon Johnson
Started last year, not real talented but tries hard

Kody Kuehl
Didn’t last long, never played

Landon Streit
Didn’t last long, never played

Joe Vanstrom
Still here, good at waving towel but never plays

2005

Jason Fiacco
Didn’t last long, never played

Paul Fisher
Two-year JUCO, hardly ever played

Scott Fisher
The fact that he started for two years said something about our OL talent

Reggie Stephens
Has started most of his career, good player

2006

Ben Lamaak
Converted TE, starter, good young player

Matt Hulbert
Has chance to be a good player with more development

Lee Tibbs
Two-year JUCO, started a few games as a senior

Jose Vargas
Didn’t last long, never played

Enter Gene Chizik

2007

Alex Alvarez
Three-year JUCO, currently starting, but still young

Trey Baysinger
Still young

Joe Blaes
Two-year JUCO, now a TE, rarely plays

James Carpenter
Didn’t make it to school, now a highly-recruited JUCO player

Doug Dedrick
Two-year JUCO, has started ever since he got here

Joseph Klerekoper
Still young

Joe McMahon
Didn’t even make it through spring ball

Kelechi Osemele
Last year’s Offensive Scout Team POY, still young

2008

Brayden Burris
Redshirting

Carter Bykowski
Currently a TE but has future OT written all over him

Scott Haughton
Playing as a true freshman

Hayworth Hicks
Three-year JUCO, still young

Ethan Tuftee
Grayshirting

As you can see, the majority of the offensive linemen still in the program were recruited by the current staff. That’s not good when you consider how long it takes to develop offensive linemen. The only players recruited before 2006 (Mac’s last class) that have a chance to contribute much this year and next are Reggie Stephens and former walk-on Mike Knapp. The problem here is inexperience. The offensive line needs another year or two of development, and we can’t have the level of attrition that hurt the past staff. Now let’s look at the defensive line.

2004

Fabian Dodd
Two-year JUCO, moved to OL and was mostly a back-up

Collins Eboh
DE recruit, went to JUCO

Travis Ferguson
DE recruit, still here but rarely plays (though he’s played more this year)

Nick Frere
Converted from LB to DE, back-up

Jason McGinty
DT recruit, didn’t last long, never played

Kurtis Taylor
Actually a 2003 grayshirt, pretty good player

2005

Stephon Dale
DT recruit, didn’t last long, never played

John Machado
Two-year JUCO DE, played as a back-up

Thomas Patton
Two-year JUCO DE, didn’t last long, never played

Eric Schultz
Converted to TE, got hurt

2006

Austin Alburtis
DT recruit, still young

Collins Eboh
Never made it back from JUCO

Nate Frere
Started some games as a true freshman at DT, current starter, okay player

Bailey Johnson
DT recruit, still young, hasn’t played this year due to injury

Patrick Neal
Grayshirted and moved to TE/FB, still only a freshman

Rashawn Parker
Stared some games as a true freshman at DE, started last year and this year

John Richardson
Never made it here

Ahtyba Rubin
Two-year JUCO DT, very good starter by the end of his career

Enter Gene Chizik

2007

Randy Kellman
Didn’t last long, never played

Chris Lyle
Three-year JUCO DE, plays enough that he’s practically a starter

Jerrod Black
Last year’s Defensive Scout Team POY, still young

Michael Tate
Two-year JUCO DT, current starter, okay player

Chris Weir
Two-year JUCO DT, back-up

2008

Cleyon Laing
DE recruit, redshirting

Chase Harper
Possible DE recruit but may also be a TE, grayshirting and still needs to qualify

Roosevelt Maggitt
DE recruit, redshirting

Jake McDonough
DT recruit, redshirting

Stephen Ruempolhamer
DT recruit, playing as a true freshman

Once again, the majority of the defensive linemen currently in the program were recruited by the current staff. Only three pre-2006 recruits are still around. Defensive line is also a position that takes time to develop, so our struggles here are not surprising.

You can take a look at the recruiting at a lot of positions, and you will see similar things for the most part. However, you can be inexperienced at a lot of positions and be okay as long as the lines are experienced. Unfortunately, we are inexperienced where experience and development matter most.

[wheels686]

We really need James Carpenter, I wonder how his visit went?

[IOWASTATE]

On a side note, in your 2005 recruiting class on the defensive side of the ball, Erich Schultz did make it here. He was converted to TE and would most likely be playing right now ahead of Catlett if it wasnt for a career ending knee injury.

[illinoiscyclone]

KO played most of the nebraska game, but im sad to say he did not probably have his best game ever.. i think he has plenty of upside, but he isnt showing it yet.
he got blown up quite a bit.

[cyfan15]

On a side note, in your 2005 recruiting class on the defensive side of the ball, Erich Schultz did make it here. He was converted to TE and would most likely be playing right now ahead of Catlett if it wasnt for a career ending knee injury.

Didn't know that, thanks for the info. I'll correct it above.

[Aclone]

As I understand it from someone from Fort Myers, we were lucky to get Stephon Dale and Chris Singleton into school, let alone Singleton staying eligible all four season.

I'll also point out that it's interesting that you consider Alburtis and Johnson "still young", but not Nate Frere, their classmate, just because he didn't redshirt. I'd say all three are inexperienced, Alburtis worst of all because he spent so much time rehabbing from knee injuries. On his high school film, he impressed me as an excellent athlete with a nose for the ball. I'm looking forward to seeing him develop.

It's also a point to note that several of the "young" guys have missed time due to injury this fall, which not only plays havic with depth and the rotation, but their development as well.

[cyfan15]

When I say "young", I mean they are underclassmen who still have a lot of time to develop. Nate Frere and Rashawn Parker unfortunately didn't get a redshirt year in 2006 that they probably could have used.

[cybsball20]

Great writeup cyfan. I was trying to make the same point with
http://www.cyclonefanatic.com/forum/...-time-bit.html (Lets Go Back in Time a Bit)
but didn't want to put in the time that you did...

[cyco2000]

Nice write-up, that I think people need to see.