Iowa's Recruiting Class So Far

[kshawk]

Interesting to see that Iowa is tied for 3rd among all schools in America at this point in most commitments (20) to this point.

Because of this, Iowa is currently at #19 overall nationally, but only one school ranked above us at this point has their recruits with a lesser ranked average than we do so far--in other words seems we are getting a strong showing so far based on quantity committed more than anything.

7 of the 20 commitments are 2-star kids at this point.

Much has been debated so far on this Iowa class; just thought I'd share some interesting stats to this point about this class.

 

[AltHawks#1]

Like you say we are number 19 right now but come February will be lucky to be in the top 50!

 

[sloehawk]

Like you say we are number 19 right now but come February will be lucky to be in the top 50!

When they don't have relatively full classes to evaluate across the country, that favors those with a bunch of early signings. Unless Iowa fills the class with 4 & 5 stars, they'll likely drop, and my guess would be substantially.

Iowa's recruiting has been obviously sub-par for years, and may be this year as well (we'll know several years from now). I fear who's Coaching these recruits far more than I do their actual individual abilities to potentially make a meaningful difference.

 

[desihawk]

Actually, this might be one year where Iowa's class remains rated high all the way through, thanks to quantity AND quality. A lot of the currently lower rated guys can be expected to trend or even pop higher as their seasons unfold. This is a reasonable expectation because they've committed early before their final HS season and Iowa scouts very well. If Iowa holds on to the entire class through signing day, they will be a well rated class.

 

[PHXIowaClub]

Iowa will end up ranked in the 50s or 60s come February, no doubt about it.

 

[redout]

Actually, this might be one year where Iowa's class remains rated high all the way through, thanks to quantity AND quality. A lot of the currently lower rated guys can be expected to trend or even pop higher as their seasons unfold. This is a reasonable expectation because they've committed early before their final HS season and Iowa scouts very well. If Iowa holds on to the entire class through signing day, they will be a well rated class.

Come on, just stop it.

 

[dawgs_04]

Actually, this might be one year where Iowa's class remains rated high all the way through, thanks to quantity AND quality. A lot of the currently lower rated guys can be expected to trend or even pop higher as their seasons unfold. This is a reasonable expectation because they've committed early before their final HS season and Iowa scouts very well. If Iowa holds on to the entire class through signing day, they will be a well rated class.

What evidence that Iowa scouts very well?

 

[Rustys Dad]

Iowa will end up ranked in the 50s or 60s come February, no doubt about it.

Yep. Right now it is the quantity. As the recruiting season moves along we will be somewhere in the 40s.

 

[ChrisVarick]

What evidence that Iowa scouts very well?

Well it isn't based off of beating teams with a winning record. The statistics there are abysmal. Wishful thinking. This is about as accurate as "Kirk Ferentz teams get better in November". Just something that is repeated around here by the forgetful.

 

[codflyer]

What evidence that Iowa scouts very well?

Well it isn't based off of beating teams with a winning record. The statistics there are abysmal. Wishful thinking. This is about as accurate as "Kirk Ferentz teams get better in November". Just something that is repeated around here by the forgetful.

Disagree. Iowa is regularly one of the first teams in on players that end up being highly regarded. Before Rivals and other sites really get their star ratings rolled out for any given class, Iowa is evaluating and making contact. It was a running joke for years that an Iowa offer would be immediately followed by one from Wisconsin whether they had even looked at the kid or not. If you have followed recruiting at all and read articles about these kids, you can pretty much find a quote along the lines of "Iowa was one of the first schools to talk to me, and that meant a lot to me" in nearly every one. You can bash the staff for not being able to close the deal...but knocking them for not identifying talent is more than a bit of a stretch. And not just identifying the no-brainer five/four star guys that my wife could scout...they are exceptional at finding the three stars and even two-stars with real potential. Again, we have been left at the altar too many times, and that is a legitimate gripe, but misfiring on offers has not really been a problem for this staff. There are a few examples of guys we have failed to offer that have turned out to be really good, but the list of guys that the fans thought we should be offering and begging to come here that then went on to flame out elsewhere is much, much longer.

The fact that Iowa has landed a whole bunch of guys that were at or near the top of their board this early is probably a very good thing and likely points to the strength of the class, regardless of what the stars say right now. Hopefully we can hold on to these guys all the way to Feb. For at least a few of them, it looks like their ratings are going to be upgraded through their senior season and other offers will probably come their way.

 

[h-hawk]

The counter argument is that Iowa is the only Power Conference offer for many of our commits, and that even some of those major offers are from weaker football schools. This may wind up being a poor comparison because, at least under an earlier OL coach, Iowa was known for their lines, but our 4 OL recruits, Iowa's bread and butter, from Iowa last year started with, and finished with no other major offers. Not even ISU. So counting on our current commits to rise in the rankings may be overly optimistic.
The argument can be made that recruiting has speeded up and we are getting our top targets because we offered so early. But some might ask why other schools are not up to speed enough to see what we do in those kids we offered. Part of the answer may be that Iowa is now irrelevant to the type of guys who may have considered us in the past, players who have several other Power 5 offers, are no longer within reach. In other words, maybe our talent pool is drying up as Iowa struggles to remain relevant in college football.
(Worst case scenario.)

 

[codflyer]

The counter argument is that Iowa is the only Power Conference offer for many of our commits, and that even some of those major offers are from weaker football schools. This may wind up being a poor comparison because, at least under an earlier OL coach, Iowa was known for their lines, but our 4 OL recruits, Iowa's bread and butter, from Iowa last year started with, and finished with no other major offers. Not even ISU. So counting on our current commits to rise in the rankings may be overly optimistic.
The argument can be made that recruiting has speeded up and we are getting our top targets because we offered so early. But some might ask why other schools are not up to speed enough to see what we do in those kids we offered. Part of the answer may be that Iowa is now irrelevant to the type of guys who may have considered us in the past, players who have several other Power 5 offers, are no longer within reach. In other words, maybe our talent pool is drying up as Iowa struggles to remain relevant in college football.
(Worst case scenario.)

The O-line recruits last year were committed pretty early as I recall and seemed pretty rock solid all the way. I would wager that they were contacted by plenty of schools, but if they showed no interest, it could just be that other schools didn't want to waste effort on trying to peel them away. Especially since none of them were truly can't-miss, Piersbacher (sp?) type recruits, but rather guys who will require some development. Doesn't mean that they can't be really, really good players eventually though, especially at a place like Iowa. Also, rather than the pessimistic view, it could actually speak to our strength, in that unless you are Alabama, it isn't even worth your time to go head to head against Iowa for Iowa kids on the O-line.

I think that, stars aside, this is currently looking like one of the better classes of the Ferentz tenure. The kind of class that has the potential to look really, really good in retrospect several years from now. Or it could completely flame out. Who knows. But, if the staff is happy, and they truly seem to be, then I think they have earned a modicum of trust on their ability to identify good players over the years. Utilizing them efficiently, maybe not. But that is another debate.

 

[iowalaw]

Hmmm. "Stars aside this looks like one of the better classes we've had?" That's like saying, aside from having no money and no savings, I am very wealthy. What do you base your statement on if not stars or other offers of the kids? It's not like we got our top targets...we have offered well over 200 guys. None of the 4 stars we've offered committed. A hand full of the 3 stars have committed. By and large, we have commits from the lowest rated kids we've offered.


"I think that, stars aside, this is currently looking like one of the better classes of the Ferentz tenure. The kind of class that has the potential to look really, really good in retrospect several years from now. Or it could completely flame out. Who knows. But, if the staff is happy, and they truly seem to be, then I think they have earned a modicum of trust on their ability to identify good players over the years. Utilizing them efficiently, maybe not. But that is another debate.[/QUOTE]

 

[codflyer]

Hmmm. "Stars aside this looks like one of the better classes we've had?" That's like saying, aside from having no money and no savings, I am very wealthy. What do you base your statement on if not stars or other offers of the kids? It's not like we got our top targets...we have offered well over 200 guys. None of the 4 stars we've offered committed. A hand full of the 3 stars have committed. By and large, we have commits from the lowest rated kids we've offered.

None of these are fall back recruits. Maybe they aren't the ones we would necessarily pick if we could just go grab whoever we wanted, but they aren't desperation picks either like we have had to resort to in the past. Also, we have addressed needs very well with this class. This hasn't always been the case in the past. Years that have gone truly sour have had their roots in recruiting failures a few years prior to cover depleted units. Our LB's last year for example, or Defensive line in '05 and '12, etc. No guarantee obviously that the class pans out over the long haul, but past classes have been light in areas of need right from the get-go, and it has bitten us. If we can hold on to who we already have, and grab just a few more, then this will be a large class of athletic kids that the staff has been high on from the beginning, not scrounging for in January. They may not be ready to roll immediately like the 4-5 star kids are, but in two years they could be the foundation of a very competitive team. I am not beating my chest and saying that this class is amazing...I am just saying that it is a lot better than many are giving it credit for, and better than several recent classes.