Recruiting at ISU

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
 
The weather doesn't seem to mind Fred's basketball recruits

And no football recruit cares about playing in cold weather.
NFL players play in much colder weather.
The entire US gets at least fairly cold in the late season.
 
Exactly. So sell it, along with top educational programs, Hilton Magic, Indoor facility, Weight facility, tutoring facilities, strength and conditioning, travel direct flights from DFW, Houston, Atlanta (make it closer to home). Worth a try.

Do you honestly think they aren't pushing these things already? Problem is this isn't unique to ISU. In fact we are usually in catch up mode. Baylor can spout off about their brand new half a billion dollar stadium.
 
The weather doesn't seem to mind Fred's basketball recruits

And no football recruit cares about playing in cold weather.
NFL players play in much colder weather.
The entire US gets at least fairly cold in the late season.

That's because they get paid ludicrous amounts of money to do so. Top College recruits from the south aren't going to be as willing to go north with all the opportunities in the south. Just the way it is.
 
Kansas State

And their recruiting classes are usually ranked right with ours. They have the great equalizer in the coach. Watch what happens when he leaves again.

It is amazing, the perspective that Iowa State is somehow this great place to sell a football player. I think that people who are fans need to step back enough to see what Iowa State's national perception. Iowa, farms, low population, bad weather, apart from the rest of the conference, yep that screams "THAT'S FOR ME" to a kid from the projects in Miami.

An average kid from Florida, Tx, etc has never even heard of Iowa State unless there is a connection to the school.

There is a reason that even today, when the BCS blows up, we will still be one of the schools that will be in danger of going away. It is less likely today than it was three years ago, but don't think for a second it could not happen.

Fire the coach all you want. Get that "winning" attitude all shined up. Praise the fans for coming to games, even though this is a brand new phenomenon. Praise that the coaches are getting more things, but understand that we are 25-30 years behind everyone else that we are aspiring to be.

Look at budgets. Look at alumi donation levels vs the size of the institution. Then try to tell me again that we as fans are doing all we can.
 
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The weather doesn't seem to mind Fred's basketball recruits

And no football recruit cares about playing in cold weather.
NFL players play in much colder weather.
The entire US gets at least fairly cold in the late season.

LOL at you for equating the two sports.

Ask him how hard it is to get recruits here, see Vaughn, Rashad.
 
LOL at you for equating the two sports.

Ask him how hard it is to get recruits here, see Vaughn, Rashad.

Well ames isn't effin Vegas. But plenty of top recruits are willing to come to ames iowa to play for a great coach. Wouldn't be any different for football.
 
Do you honestly think they aren't pushing these things already? Problem is this isn't unique to ISU. In fact we are usually in catch up mode. Baylor can spout off about their brand new half a billion dollar stadium.

Do you honestly think we have 2 full time reps in FL/TX trying to sell ISU? Doubtful. It's not just about selling facilities, it's about Marketing ourselves differently and uncovering hidden gems with 2 full time scouts/recruiters. If CPR has the character that I think he does, he would forego his upcoming bonus and use those funds to pay for the recruiter's salaries. TX and FL prospects can DRIVE to see those campuses anytime they want. CPR has said many times that "if we can get a kid to Ames they usually commit' but getting them to Ames is the challenge. So, you have to take the campus to the players. Draw interest in ISU to TX and FL kids above and beyond of what we do now with just the Assistant Coaches doing a drive by once a year. Getting them to ISU is the challenge, so help take ISU to them with a new Marketing campaign/videos anything to sell the Iowa State experience and campus life to a high school kids and his parent. I think they best way to do that is more boots on the ground as I said in previous posts.

And while Ames might be in the middle of a corn field and safe, that is a selling point to many inner city kids parents who want their kid in a safe environment and focused on schoolwork. Hayden Fry hung his hat on it and I imagine so does Bill Snyder.
 
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The weather doesn't seem to mind Fred's basketball recruits

And no football recruit cares about playing in cold weather.
NFL players play in much colder weather.
The entire US gets at least fairly cold in the late season.

Yeah, probably has a lot to do with the fact that Fred's guys don't play outdoors. Maybe!

To think no football player cares about playing in cold weather is either some form of denial, or ignorance. I live in Texas. I'm around HS football players about everyday. Most of the kids I know that have pursued, or are currently pursuing college football, prefer to play in the south, at least in part, because it is warm further into the season. It's probably no coincidence that there is so much quality FB in the warmer south.
 
We don't put guys in the NFL on a consistent basis whatsoever. The next level is the bottom line for a lot of these kids. Not saying education isn't important, but I don't think its that high on a majority of players' lists.
 
Why don't we use the Hoiberg model in football? I am sure there are second and third stringers at Florida State, Auburn etc who have one or two years of eligibility left, and who are probably very competitive.

I am sure there are competitive starters at UNLVs, Southern Illinois' etc who are entering their sophomore and junior seasons realizing they could do with the exposure of being in a power 5 conference.
 
Kansas State

Bill Snyder is a once in a lifetime caliber coach who may be one of the top 5 coaches to coach the college game. Without Snyder, KSU has one thirty something percent of their games and pretty much everyone expects KSU to revert to that level when Snyder is no longer the coach. KSU is an aberration.
 
Well of course we can recruit here. Every year I read about the guys that we have signed that are.....

A real sleeper
A diamond in the rough
Flew under the radar
Undiscovered gem
A late bloomer
Hidden talent
A little undersized
Has a couple issues
 
There has to be something we don't realize when it comes to the football program. We've never been better than average. Never. Why is that? Even duke and Baylor got things figured out

Never had an accurate qb.:yes:
 
I just have one thing to say about recruiting to Ames, IA/ISU. How easy do you think it is to recruit to NDSU or UNI. UNI beat us a couple of years ago. North Dakota is a hell of a lot colder than Ames. Have you been to the Dakotas. Not that exciting. We got killed by NDSU. They had better players. UNI then beats them 23 to 3. Plus they have just 63 players instead of 85. So, what conference could this team compete in???? Missouri Valley??? Maybe small schools like Grandview or is it Drake?????? The other thing is injuries. What team doesn't have injuries. What is the excuse for the first game with NDSU or the year before with UNI??????
 
I just have one thing to say about recruiting to Ames, IA/ISU. How easy do you think it is to recruit to NDSU or UNI. UNI beat us a couple of years ago. North Dakota is a hell of a lot colder than Ames. Have you been to the Dakotas. Not that exciting. We got killed by NDSU. They had better players. UNI then beats them 23 to 3. Plus they have just 63 players instead of 85. So, what conference could this team compete in???? Missouri Valley??? Maybe small schools like Grandview or is it Drake?????? The other thing is injuries. What team doesn't have injuries. What is the excuse for the first game with NDSU or the year before with UNI??????

We just look so unmotivated excerpt for Wimberly, maybe Montgomery, and use to be Miller. We also look semi disorganized. I suspect the disorganization comes from inadequate coaching unless the players are not playing smart. The lack of fielding a kickoff is our season in a nutshell. The 39 and 29 yard end game passes at UT is reconfimation.
 
How about the other 81 scholarships.

Bingo. Our recruiting classes always have a couple really good gets. Then, we quickly drop to the "had a few other Power 5 offers", then about half of the guys had no other P5 offers. The result is that we have about 10 complete whiffs in every class. This leads to having about 40 legitimate players (maybe being kind) on our roster. If 10-15 of them are red shirting, that leaves about 25-30 legitimate B12 players. Now throw in injuries, which all teams have. We're pretty quick to dip in to the unqualified pool or be forced to take red shirts off of guys. Even the legit guys aren't necessarily ready for prime time as a RS Frosh or whatever.

So we get all stoked because we have 3 great receivers and a couple good DB's to go with 1-2 good OL or a LB or two. We then point to Klein, Knott, Osemele as guys we have had. I know there are more, but that's a few next-level guys in 6 years!!!

That's not a recipe for success. Can't have 30-40+ recruiting misses on your roster. Especially if you don't develop (Ferentz/Iowa) or coach like a witch (KSU/Snyder).
 
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Watching the last ten years, the players need to be more ready to play when they come on campus. We have too many projects or players that take 3-4 years to contribute. Dr Time at KSU takes older players and walkons to alleviate the injury problems. Heck, Fred normally takes older players and does not waste as many schollies. If you get older players, you need to make sure they are tough enough to play right away.
 

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