I politely disagree with this premise. First, we're doing ok in-state. We beat Iowa for Boffeli, but Lichtenberg and Lenz are stretches that didn't have other DI interest to this point and shouldn't be compared to Davis, Wegher, or maybe even Cotton. Second, I'm pretty sure that Wegher isn't from their neck of the woods. Third, I'm still not convinced that we are out of the running for Barrent. If we have a surprising year, he could easily be swayed to stay in Iowa, and ISU has excellent connections to Valley's program.
I'm excited for this year because I think it could be the year that we make our move. Beating Iowa in Iowa City is the key. We pull that off this year, coupled with a thumping next year in Ames, and we will see Iowa high school studs finding it harder and harder to turn down ISU. Once we start going head-to-head and winning on the top Iowa talent against Iowa, we'll be where we need to be to have long-term success.