How to Build ISU Football

[ShopTalk]

Currently ISU primarily targets Texas, Florida and California for recruits outside of Iowa. This means that AFTER all the instate teams and best out of state conference teams get the pick of the litter, ISU picks up the leftovers most of the time. This rarely if ever leads to success. See ISU FB history.

Rhoads plan is to look for overlooked "diamonds in the rough" in those states and gamble that he can develop them into diamonds. This is the Nebraska of old and current Wisconsin methods. Can work with time and big enough pipeline of incoming players. For every diamond that develops, plan on a lot not, meaning high turnover.

Why not also recruit lightly recruited states with low population bases and try and bring in those states top players for camps to see how they stack up against the current team's roster? Only offer scholly or preferred walk-on based on camp performance against current players to know they measure up. I'm thinking NE, SD, ND, WY, MN and the like. May not amount to much, but even a few would help, right?

Beyond that, current plan is to build up facilities, have a good coaching staff - required stuff, but stuff that the big money teams will most always be able to do better.

KSU is successful under Snyder and only Snyder because he emphasizes JUCO recruiting of top talent that other schools won't touch due to academic failure risk. This gives him a fairly insulated quality recruiting pool all to himself. Probably similar at Boise. ISU can't follow that path.

If ISU wants to compete, they need to scour every nook and cranny of America that is overlooked or under-recruited by the majority of BCS teams to find those players that end up in D-II or D-III that are NFL potential. Guys like Walter Payton. This comes down to a much more aggressive and far reaching recruiting effort. Doable? With a lot of preparation and effort, I think so.

How hard is it to send out a mass mailing/emailing to every single small city/state HS Football coach in America saying ISU is interested in recruiting or hearing about all players you have who could compete at BCS level? Have team recruiting coordinator and unpaid assistants work the phones every year and after a few years I bet this would lead to some positive results.

Hell, maybe ISU FB already is doing something like this or there is no such thing as an overlooked or under-recruited area any more.

 

[KneeGusto]

Currently ISU primarily targets Texas, Florida and California for recruits outside of Iowa. This means that AFTER all the instate teams and best out of state conference teams get the pick of the litter, ISU picks up the leftovers most of the time. This rarely if ever leads to success. See ISU FB history.

Rhoads plan is to look for overlooked "diamonds in the rough" in those states and gamble that he can develop them into diamonds. This is the Nebraska of old and current Wisconsin methods. Can work with time and big enough pipeline of incoming players. For every diamond that develops, plan on a lot not, meaning high turnover.

Why not also recruit lightly recruited states with low population bases and try and bring in those states top players for camps to see how they stack up against the current team's roster? Only offer scholly or preferred walk-on based on camp performance against current players to know they measure up. I'm thinking NE, SD, ND, WY, MN and the like. May not amount to much, but even a few would help, right?

Beyond that, current plan is to build up facilities, have a good coaching staff - required stuff, but stuff that the big money teams will most always be able to do better.

KSU is successful under Snyder and only Snyder because he emphasizes JUCO recruiting of top talent that other schools won't touch due to academic failure risk. This gives him a fairly insulated quality recruiting pool all to himself. Probably similar at Boise. ISU can't follow that path.

If ISU wants to compete, they need to scour every nook and cranny of America that is overlooked or under-recruited by the majority of BCS teams to find those players that end up in D-II or D-III that are NFL potential. Guys like Walter Payton. This comes down to a much more aggressive and far reaching recruiting effort. Doable? With a lot of preparation and effort, I think so.

How hard is it to send out a mass mailing/emailing to every single small city/state HS Football coach in America saying ISU is interested in recruiting or hearing about all players you have who could compete at BCS level? Have team recruiting coordinator and unpaid assistants work the phones every year and after a few years I bet this would lead to some positive results.

Hell, maybe ISU FB already is doing something like this or there is no such thing as an overlooked or under-recruited area any more.

Ferentz, and many others have built and maintained successful programs doing exactly what you suggest. They may not be national powers every year, but they are consistently competitive. They are not flooded with 5 * recruits, or any at all, but they are on par with elite programs that do.

I hate to let out a secret, but why not only recruit the schools in the U.S. ? Why not get back to recruiting the Canadian schools? (We used to with great success) Want another lineman like Sheldon Napastuk? Want another tight end like Bob Richardson? Sure, this sounds silly to some but do a little wiki work on those players, their careers at ISU, their pro careers, and their success in life afterwards.

The ISU track teams used to thrive by having talent come from Africa and Southern Europe. Surely ISU Football can look a tank of gas North of Minneapolis for talent as well as a plane ride to Plano, Dallas, Fort Meyers, and Miami.

I agree with ShopTalk. We have to think outside the box. We need recruiters willing to go to Williston, Decorah, Bozeman, and Laramie AS WELL as Plano and Orlando... or we need to establish relationships with coaches in those areas... and points North.

 

[boulderbound]

the weakest links are the offensive and defensive lines, until recruiters are found to upgrade these positions ISU will never be competitive. good footb

 

[CYVADER]

what was ferentz record through 3 years at Iowa?

 

[ItsCyence]

I do think we should recruit the Dakotas and Wyoming. You know who currently gets the best recruits from there? SDSU, NDSU, and Wyoming.

 

[Sigmapolis]

what was ferentz record through 3 years at Iowa?

1999 = 1-10
2000 = 3-9
2001 = 7-5

(and 11-2 in 2002)

All-Time Records for Iowa

 

[Hayes30]

Get more midwest kids.

 

[joefrog]

First off, we need to quit being just like everyone else. Go to a 3-4 defense. Bring blitzes from wherever and whenever. Also, go to an NFL style offense, whichever lends itself to easiest plug and play usage. It seems we have decided to bring McD basketball philosophy to the football field, with similar results.

How do you run the spread offense and never, I mean never light somebody up in yardage in a game? How did Arnaud regress from year 2 to year 4? How is it that none of our routes end up with wide open receivers?

We are trying the same failing ideas over and over again with the expected results following.

 

[ShopTalk]

I do think we should recruit the Dakotas and Wyoming. You know who currently gets the best recruits from there? SDSU, NDSU, and Wyoming.

Exactly. I think ISU could compete for top recruits with those schools. Even if it is just a few players a year, maybe ISU doesn't lose to Wyoming again.

 

[ISUKyro]

Get more midwest kids.

Only if they are good.

I don't give a **** where the players come from if they are good or can be developed into being very good.

 

[scyclonekid]

I agree, I just do not like the spread offense because it just does not work for Iowa State. You need A LOT of speed and we just do not have that. We need beef on both sides of the ball to get penetration to open up holes for the backs and to get to the damn qb. I would like to see more two back sets in our offense to give the qb more time or use one of the backs as a receiver on the check down to get 5-10 yard chunks to keep the chains moving.

The type of offense we are using just does not add up with the type of athletes we currently have. I also think we need to burn a scholarship for a good kicker!! Until this coaching staff figures this out this season will continue just like it is now.

 

[arganbright2]

I watched a piece about Boise State and how they recruited players to the football team. Chris Petersen said he recruits the smartest football players regardless of talent level. He made the comment during one segment (aired in 2009 or so) that he could see as many as 10-12 guys on his roster being college coaches once their playing careers are over. Everybody keeps complaining about all the missed opportunities on offense and how Herman is a "terrible" coach but I guarantee you if our players thought on the same wavelength as him when it came to the play calling and their responsibilities on the field, we could be a much better team.


Also, we need to tap into the Samoan/Hawaiian/other Pacific Island pipeline. Football is absolutely huge in those areas and we need some big uglies on the OL and DL pushing people around.

 

[UNIGuy4Cy]

We cant compare ourselves to Boise State because they would have the same issues as we do if they were playing our schedule.

 

[isufbcurt]

We cant compare ourselves to Boise State because they would have the same issues as we do if they were playing our schedule.

Complete BS!!!

People need to realize BSU is a good program and are contenders no matter what conference they are in.

 

[arganbright2]

We cant compare ourselves to Boise State because they would have the same issues as we do if they were playing our schedule.

Wasn't comparing them in any way, shape, or form. Just stating that we have an offensive coordinator who is in the top 1% in the world when it comes to intelligence working with kids who obviously don't have that same intelligence level and do not think the same way he does. Case and point---our starting QB coming into this year is academically ineligible for whatever reason. With our schedule and a first year QB, we still have the 2nd best offense in the past 10 years when it comes to yards per game.

 

[arganbright2]

We cant compare ourselves to Boise State because they would have the same issues as we do if they were playing our schedule.

You obviously don't watch much football either. Boise State plays a tougher non-conference schedule than us year in and year out and they find a way to win.

 

[ISUKyro]

You obviously don't watch much football either. Boise State plays a tougher non-conference schedule than us year in and year out and they find a way to win.

Their non-con my be tougher, but really how hard has their in-conference games been?

 

[CyFan61]

How to Build ISU Football

It boils down to line play. Period, end of story. You NEED improvement on the lines on both sides of the ball to give yourself a chance.

Let's start with offense. We know Steele has the potential to be a very good, if not great QB. We've seen it this year. We know that James White and Shontrelle Johnson are both RBs with lots of potential. They are Big 12 caliber. We know that our receiving corp is actually decent this season, a big improvement from last year. We have the pieces in place on offense.

We need the line to step it up. If they give Steele more time, our receivers get more open. If they open more holes for JW/SJ, we get more yards. It is so simple.

On defense, we have a phenomenal LB group and we have a secondary that's actually pretty good. It comes down to the line.

When they get pressure on the QB, it forces poor passes and doesn't put as much pressure on those in coverage. When they clog holes to slow down the RBs, it allows our great LBs to do their jobs and make tackles for short gains and losses.

Bend-but-don't-break systems are grounded on the principle that the offense is going to mess up eventually. Something will ruin their drive - a fumble, a bad pass, a costly penalty. But when we allow teams to rip off 8 yards/carry on a regular basis because we are preventing the big play, and get no pressure on the QB, we have an issue. Improved play from the defensive line is the best way to remedy both of these issues.

If you want to build ISU football, you have to start with the lines.

 

[cyclones18]

ISU needs to stop redshirting so many skill position players (receivers, rb's, qb's, db's) and play them as true freshmen. You can't build depth and gain experience if your players are not on the field. They have to learn through in game experience and making mistakes. Look at how many teams nation wide start true freshman now. Its everywhere. We heard last year about how good George was/is and Mattison but they never see the field outside of kickoffs which have been few and far between. They aren't going to learn unless they play plus it gives AJ, Knott & co. some much needed rest during the games. We have done a good job of rotating D-linemen but could probably give DE's some breaks and definitely DB's.

We also cannot be afraid to make a change if something isn't working. Look at what Spurrier has done, Kelly at ND, Texas, NW, the list goes on. I'm not saying we should bench anyone but let some of these young guys play. Who knows they may surprise some people but we will never know unless they get a shot. If they sit on the bench or only play special teams for 2-3 years how much interest are they going to have going forward? Are they going to give full effort every day knowing that they aren't going to see the field?

Just my opinion. Feel free to add/subtract from it.

Go Clones!

 

[FootballinTexas]

Development! If their good enough to recruit, play them!