Yes, as the aesthetics of college campuses go, ISU is not bad. It's looks and atmosphere are certainly not any worse than average, as universities go. But does aesthetics enter in to a 3-5 star college recruit's decision when he is picking his college? I doubt it is a deciding factor. It matters less what he can see and more what he can do. Can he win a national championship there? Can he win a conference championship there? Can he go to a January bowl game there? Can he be a part of a long and storied winning tradition? Can he get to the NFL from there? Can he go to the beach/mountains/desert/etc? Can he leave his winter coat behind with his parents? Can he go clubbing in the big city? Can he see an NFL/NBA game there? Have you said "yes" to many of these questions when you apply them to ISU?
ISU is a great school with great people in a safe, and relatively clean and affluent midwestern town. You will get a very good education there and if you have the talent and you work hard you have as good of a chance to get to the NFL from ISU as you do anywhere else. But is SNOWS here. We are surrounded by nothing but corn and bean fields. No oceanside beaches. No mountains. No top level professional sports. What does ISU have to offer a top recruit that any other power 5 conference school can't offer as well? Maybe less competition for a spot on the 1st team? If he had never been to the state of Iowa before and had no friends or family that had ties to ISU, why would Johnny 4 Star or Bobby 5 Star pick ISU over another power 5 conference team?
I apologize for the frankness, but c'mon. The truth is the truth.
Kansas State