Yawn. Haines by himself is worth more NCAA points than many of the classes ranked higher and that's what matters. I would have them at 8-10 just with him.
Iowa should have a minimum of 8 (preferably more) top 20 overall recruits on the roster at all times and at least 4 (preferably more) of them should be top 10 overall. Next year we have Lee, Cass, Warner, Kennedy and Ayala. Woods can count as a top 20 based on work experience. That leaves us 2 guys short of the minimum at 6 and Ayala will be in RS so only 5 in the lineup. The year after we lose Lee and Warner. Add Jesuroga, Kueter and Arnold and we are at 7 for 1 year but 3 will be in redshirt so only 4 in the lineup. The next year we lose Cass and Woods. Now down to 5 overall with 4 to 5 in the lineup. We won't be in the running for team titles until we can meet this criteria. In 2020 and 2021 we had 7 and all were in the lineup. In 2022 we technically had 8 total but 7 in the lineup with Lee out and Ayala, Eierman, Kem and Cass all hurt.
Both of these are ABSOLUTELY the logic and “recipe” when it comes to recruiting to even try to CONSiSTENTLY hang with PSU, let alone beat them. The problem is, PSU is already doing that and more. tOSU has been recruiting like that for about the past 5 or 6 years as well. That leaves a VERY SMALL amount of room to snag top 20, let alone top 10 guys that fill specific needs.
Even when PSU is ranked “low” in a recruiting class, they almost certainly landed 1 top 10 recruit that fills a specific need and already have nearly all of the other 9 weights filled with a top 10ish guy. So, even though it gets ranked low by Willie, it is about as good of a class for PSU specifically as it can get. That is truly the #1 component to why they win so much. This isn’t to say they don’t do a great job developing and juggling all the necessary components to be so good, because they absolutely do. But, when you are making a meal it is a lot easier to make it fantastic when you are using certified Wagyu filets vs Meijer brand.
With that said, PSU and tOSU make it very hard for Iowa to recruit that high that consistently. Between both, they almost certainly get a couple of the top need guys for Iowa most years. Iowa still then needs to contend with Cornell, Michigan, ASU, OkState and NC State who all seem to snag at least one top 15ish guy per season. Even after that, you still have the rest of the B1G to contend with and the outliers who will connect with coaches like Troy Nickerson, Coleman Scott or even Dresser/Metcalf this past season.
Simply put, Iowa has ZERO margin for error to recruit CONSISTENTLY at that level. In my opinion, they need that new facility already built and ready to use TODAY. On top of that, they need an NIL plan already in place to “sell” to recruits. With that, they need to be willing to recruit someone whose style may not fit. As I have often said, Iowa’s current style nearly across the board relies almost exclusively off inside ties. If their opponents can avoid these positions, most of the Iowa guys almost look completely lost. Finding a top guy or 2 that can wrestle from space and cultivating that is CRUCIAL for Iowa to stay near the very top!
Lastly, I don’t think Iowa can consistently recruit at the level you ask for. Everything above, and the track record under Brands, simply puts too many things in the way to get there. But, they have drastically improved over the past few years in that area, with Kemerer being the initial catalyst. If they can keep up with their recent numbers you listed, I think they can pull out a championship every 4 to 5 year cycle, but I just can’t see them consistently challenging PSU every year and they will still probably have their hands full with tOSU most seasons as well.
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