Jim was/is a great guy. When I was younger, I lived by and was a regular at a bar called Tradewinds in the old main district...this is where a lot of the coaches would go to "hide" from the general populous...and Jim was one of them.
On more than one occasion I shared a pitcher of beer with Jim and his wife and we talked football. I did as him one day why we never seemed to move forward as a program...his answer will stick with me forever and I've used it in my work as a philosophy...
Not exactly verbatim but very close..."it's simple, until we can recruit the best players INSIDE the state of Iowa at the same level as the U of I, Iowa State will never be able to recruit great players from other states. Until you have talent, you're not going to win regularly."
On more than one occasion I shared a pitcher of beer with Jim and his wife and we talked football. I did as him one day why we never seemed to move forward as a program...his answer will stick with me forever and I've used it in my work as a philosophy...
Not exactly verbatim but very close..."it's simple, until we can recruit the best players INSIDE the state of Iowa at the same level as the U of I, Iowa State will never be able to recruit great players from other states. Until you have talent, you're not going to win regularly."