Disappointing day IMO... and probably in Wally Burnham's eyes too.

First off, let me be clear that I'm thrilled with each and every recruit that signed with ISU today. Every single one of them looks like a great recruit for us and all of them will have a chance to play here I'm sure.

With that being said, it could have been SO MUCH better IMO. LB and DE are easily are weakest positions on the team. Losing Hulbert at LB is a killer. He was rated as the #33 LB in the country... and by looking at his video, he was one of the commits I was most excited about. And I don't look for the surprise LB commit, Pate, to ever make it to Ames either by the sounds of it.

Then, we get the news about Rony Nelson. I hope I'm wrong about this because we could desperately use him this year, but I get the feeling that we'll never see this kid again in Ames, IA. If somehow he can stay here and get this class taken care of, then I will feel better about our prospects with him, but if he leaves Ames, I doubt we'll ever see him again. It just doesn't happen. I can't recall it ever happening anyway?

So with that in mind about Nelson, I was looking forward to seeing us signing either Dancy or Bonomalo, but neither of them signed either. As far as I'm concerned, if Nelson doesn't make it, we will have a worse pass rush next year than we did this year. Losing Lyle and getting Parker back is not an even wash IMO. And if we don't get pressure on the QB, our defense will be in big trouble.

Add to that, we also lost Kirksey to Rutgers as well. Not good either.

The positives are that we did very well with DBs in this class. In fact, I look for two of them to end up at LB... probably Morgan and Bennett. They have the size to become LBers. So that will help cushion the loss of Hulbert a little. Also, you have to like some of the playmakers we've added as well. Herman has to be very happy getting guys like Shontrelle Johnson, Albert Gary, Jarvis West, Young, Jared Barnett, etc.

If I were Wally though.. I'd be asking Rhoads where my D-linemen are though? Games are won and lost in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Show me where this class gives us much future on the DL? Next year will have to be a huge DL class.

It was a decent day today... but it should have been a whole lot better.

Rony just missed by 1 credit. He will be back on the team in the summer.

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Originally Posted by clonedude

Then, we get the news about Rony Nelson. I hope I'm wrong about this because we could desperately use him this year, but I get the feeling that we'll never see this kid again in Ames, IA. If somehow he can stay here and get this class taken care of, then I will feel better about our prospects with him, but if he leaves Ames, I doubt we'll ever see him again. It just doesn't happen. I can't recall it ever happening anyway?

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In CPR's interview on Miller and Miller today he said Rony is staying in Ames to get his class requirements taken care of which helps his staying with the program I think.

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Originally Posted by clonedude

First off, let me be clear that I'm thrilled with each and every recruit that signed with ISU today. Every single one of them looks like a great recruit for us and all of them will have a chance to play here I'm sure.

With that being said, it could have been SO MUCH better IMO. LB and DE are easily are weakest positions on the team. Losing Hulbert at LB is a killer. He was rated as the #33 LB in the country... and by looking at his video, he was one of the commits I was most excited about. And I don't look for the surprise LB commit, Pate, to ever make it to Ames either by the sounds of it.

Then, we get the news about Rony Nelson. I hope I'm wrong about this because we could desperately use him this year, but I get the feeling that we'll never see this kid again in Ames, IA. If somehow he can stay here and get this class taken care of, then I will feel better about our prospects with him, but if he leaves Ames, I doubt we'll ever see him again. It just doesn't happen. I can't recall it ever happening anyway?

So with that in mind about Nelson, I was looking forward to seeing us signing either Dancy or Bonomalo, but neither of them signed either. As far as I'm concerned, if Nelson doesn't make it, we will have a worse pass rush next year than we did this year. Losing Lyle and getting Parker back is not an even wash IMO. And if we don't get pressure on the QB, our defense will be in big trouble.

Add to that, we also lost Kirksey to Rutgers as well. Not good either.

The positives are that we did very well with DBs in this class. In fact, I look for two of them to end up at LB... probably Morgan and Bennett. They have the size to become LBers. So that will help cushion the loss of Hulbert a little. Also, you have to like some of the playmakers we've added as well. Herman has to be very happy getting guys like Shontrelle Johnson, Albert Gary, Jarvis West, Young, Jared Barnett, etc.

If I were Wally though.. I'd be asking Rhoads where my D-linemen are though? Games are won and lost in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Show me where this class gives us much future on the DL? Next year will have to be a huge DL class.

It was a decent day today... but it should have been a whole lot better.

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Man, the glass isn't just half empty with you, is it? It's laying on the floor, smashed into little pieces. Buck up, camper. Go pet a kitten or something.

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Originally Posted by clonedude

If I were Wally though.. I'd be asking Rhoads where my D-linemen are though? Games are won and lost in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Show me where this class gives us much future on the DL? Next year will have to be a huge DL class.

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Actually I don't know if he can ask Rhoads because Wally probably does as much recruiting as Rhoads does if not more. I agree that more DL would have been nice, but can't really blame this on Rhoads. Actually you can't really blame it on anyone that Hulbert did show, or that Nelson didn't keep up on his studies.

Just my .02 though.

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Originally Posted by bosco

In CPR's interview on Miller and Miller today he said Rony is staying in Ames to get his class requirements taken care of which helps his staying with the program I think.

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That would help greatly. Thanks for the info.

I just don't remember ever seeing a kid leave Ames, and then ever returning again? First two names that come to mind are James Carpenter and Chase Harper. But those were obviously a lot different situations, since they went to JUCO's. Rony just needs one more credit. That's much different.

A perfect day today would have included Hubert, Bonomalo, and Kirksey IMO... or Dancy. I really doubt if the two "suprises" will ever put on an ISU uniform? That's just what I'm hearing.

I don't get all the disappointment. We really only lost 1 guy, and yes he could've been good but I wouldn't say he was the best in our class. Nelson will be back, as was previously posted he only missed by 1 credit and is stayin in Ames, so he'll be fine.

This is basically the strongest class we've signed top to bottom in how many years? A lot, so I don't see ANY reason to be "disappointed".

The most telling stat I heard: we've had 33 (give or take, can't remember exact number) official visits and 28 of them signed. That means all these kids were the kids the coaches wanted. All this and it is only Paul's first year here. Wait until he can put some roots down and actually have a few years to recruit and build relationships.

I for one am VERY excited about this class.:yes::yes::yes:

There are small disappointments on every signing day, but I'm extremely excited about this group, and that's that.

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Originally Posted by LonoClone

Man, the glass isn't just half empty with you, is it? It's laying on the floor, smashed into little pieces. Buck up, camper. Go pet a kitten or something.

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I'm fine. I like to follow ISU athletics, but I don't let it bother me. ISU just isn't good enough at anything for me to get too worked up about it. But it is fun to follow.

I couldn't be disappointed today if ISU signed 20 seniors from Gilbert. Today is a great day no matter how you look at it. Some of the kids we signed today are going to be good football players. Some will not be. Either way, it's a fun day to look at who the future is of the program. I am not as disappointed as some on how this class took shape, but I am surely not going to jump on the side of this one being one of the best ever either because it's not. However, we got some great kids, especially Johnson who is by far the best player in this class.

I agree there is a lot to be excited for in this class. Tons of intangibles as Ron Jawarski might say. We have tons of size and speed across the board...I think there are a bunch of kids in this class that will see the field in one way or another next year.

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Originally Posted by clonedude

I'm fine. I like to follow ISU athletics, but I don't let it bother me. ISU just isn't good enough at anything for me to get too worked up about it. But it is fun to follow.

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Now thats the right attitude!!! :nah:

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Originally Posted by rhillary

I don't get all the disappointment. We really only lost 1 guy, and yes he could've been good but I wouldn't say he was the best in our class. Nelson will be back, as was previously posted he only missed by 1 credit and is stayin in Ames, so he'll be fine.

This is basically the strongest class we've signed top to bottom in how many years? A lot, so I don't see ANY reason to be "disappointed".

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1 credit and we don't know what his GPA is. He may be a A student missing 1 credit or a D student missing 1 credit. It is way to early to jump to any conclusions about anyone.

Coach said, the hardest position to recruit for is Dline...I think this class proves it. We really need some guys on the dline.

I'm confident Nelson will be back in the summer.

As for DL recruiting, the staff knows it is an area of critical need. They were unlucky in the prospects they targeted. They'll have a plan in mind for 2011.