ISU recruiting ranked 4th in Big XII

[dafarmer]

ESPN has us rated as having the 4th best recruiting class in the BIG XII and 39th over all. Just wondering if our 3 man front keeps us from getting some rush ends. Not everybody wants to play in this formation.

 

[BACyclone]

With regard to your question about rush ends, I think the recruiting profile is just different. Assuming we stick and recruit to the 3-3-5 style of defense, we are not going to necessarily see a "rush end" get recruited, per se'. That person will more likely be considered an OLB. Will McDonald is a good example. In this defense it's kind of like a wide-9 rush end, if you will, that might be more of a sub-package player on obvious passing downs. Generally, the defensive ends we recruit will be more like a 3-4 DE instead of a 4-3 DE.

However I hope we are able to find more kids like McDonald, but just understand that athletic profile is pretty unique and harder to recruit specifically in football...in part because those kids are also in really high demand as edge rushers.