Every summer, us Hawk fans look forward to what could be. Recruiting season means that there is a chance that a blue chip WR/LB/QB/RB difference maker will commit to the hawks and give us HOPE of things to come for the next 4 yrs.
I currently have HOPE that the new recruiting coordinator will pull a rabbit out of his hat (despite his small town Iowa background/lack of pedigree) and raise Hawkeye recruiting to the next level by casting a wider net, trying innovative new ideas in marketing, adding enthusiasm to the process. I have HOPE that our young coaches, Ferentz and Woods (despite their small town Iowa backgrounds and lack of success thus far) will relate to young urban players and invigorate our stale recruiting process. Despite routinely losing the #1 rated in-state recruit to other schools, I have HOPE that Reece Morgan will seal the borders and lock up the top two or three in-state players. I have HOPE that Greg Davis will cultivate the Texas high school pipeline that he developed after having one of the highest profile coaching positions in the state of Texas for years and years. I have HOPE that our "new blood," Kennedy and White, will leave no stone left unturned and spend 100 hours per week finding some out of state jewels. I have HOPE that Kirk is out there sealing the deal with top recruits as our "closer," like Tressel and Harbaugh effortlessly do. It is this HOPE of reading good news in recruiting that keeps most of us logging on to this site in the middle of the summer, when no football is being played.
Thus far, the "new" staff's recruiting has been a bitter disappointment. Our recruiting classes finished 12th in the conference in 2014 and 2015 under their guidance, and we have walkons and guys with no other D1 offers all over the roster to prove it. Whats more, our former recruiting coordinator has publicly stated that the new staff doesn't put the same emphasis on recruiting that he did.
So did staff get a wake up call this year to shape up or ship out? Kirk said all the right things in his end of season press conference. That he would spend time studying other teams schemes and spend more time on his craft. In addition, our recruiting coordinator says that we have sent out more offers this year than in years past, and that we are targeting the state of Georgia, and many see these as signs of improvement.
Unfortunately, neither the new recruiting coordinator nor Kirk's lip service have paid off thus far on the recruiting trail. It is June, and we currently have just 4 commits (ahead of only Purdue and Indiana in the Big 10). By mid June last year, our 58th ranked national recruiting class already had more than double that amount, with 9 commits. By Mid June in 2014, our 59th ranked recruiting class already had 7 at this stage, including 4 star Jay Scheel. Teams are signing players earlier and earlier, and we are bucking the trend in a negative way. This recruiting class is HUGE, as it will be needed to bolster the previous low ranked classes, which have already been decimated by attrition.
While it is nice that we are casting a wide net in Georgia, a state where we have absolutely no footprint. While I am not a coach, it appears that we are targeting Georgia at the expense of the talent rich Big Ten footprint. Does Kirk know that talent rich New Jersey and Maryland are in the Big Ten now and that we have a much better chance at landing kids from there?? Does he know that we have had a ton of success with guys from PA and Ohio? Big Ten kids? Ohio State and Penn State can't sign them all.
I believe this staff is lost, and the recruiting results continue to speak for themselves.
I currently have HOPE that the new recruiting coordinator will pull a rabbit out of his hat (despite his small town Iowa background/lack of pedigree) and raise Hawkeye recruiting to the next level by casting a wider net, trying innovative new ideas in marketing, adding enthusiasm to the process. I have HOPE that our young coaches, Ferentz and Woods (despite their small town Iowa backgrounds and lack of success thus far) will relate to young urban players and invigorate our stale recruiting process. Despite routinely losing the #1 rated in-state recruit to other schools, I have HOPE that Reece Morgan will seal the borders and lock up the top two or three in-state players. I have HOPE that Greg Davis will cultivate the Texas high school pipeline that he developed after having one of the highest profile coaching positions in the state of Texas for years and years. I have HOPE that our "new blood," Kennedy and White, will leave no stone left unturned and spend 100 hours per week finding some out of state jewels. I have HOPE that Kirk is out there sealing the deal with top recruits as our "closer," like Tressel and Harbaugh effortlessly do. It is this HOPE of reading good news in recruiting that keeps most of us logging on to this site in the middle of the summer, when no football is being played.
Thus far, the "new" staff's recruiting has been a bitter disappointment. Our recruiting classes finished 12th in the conference in 2014 and 2015 under their guidance, and we have walkons and guys with no other D1 offers all over the roster to prove it. Whats more, our former recruiting coordinator has publicly stated that the new staff doesn't put the same emphasis on recruiting that he did.
So did staff get a wake up call this year to shape up or ship out? Kirk said all the right things in his end of season press conference. That he would spend time studying other teams schemes and spend more time on his craft. In addition, our recruiting coordinator says that we have sent out more offers this year than in years past, and that we are targeting the state of Georgia, and many see these as signs of improvement.
Unfortunately, neither the new recruiting coordinator nor Kirk's lip service have paid off thus far on the recruiting trail. It is June, and we currently have just 4 commits (ahead of only Purdue and Indiana in the Big 10). By mid June last year, our 58th ranked national recruiting class already had more than double that amount, with 9 commits. By Mid June in 2014, our 59th ranked recruiting class already had 7 at this stage, including 4 star Jay Scheel. Teams are signing players earlier and earlier, and we are bucking the trend in a negative way. This recruiting class is HUGE, as it will be needed to bolster the previous low ranked classes, which have already been decimated by attrition.
While it is nice that we are casting a wide net in Georgia, a state where we have absolutely no footprint. While I am not a coach, it appears that we are targeting Georgia at the expense of the talent rich Big Ten footprint. Does Kirk know that talent rich New Jersey and Maryland are in the Big Ten now and that we have a much better chance at landing kids from there?? Does he know that we have had a ton of success with guys from PA and Ohio? Big Ten kids? Ohio State and Penn State can't sign them all.
I believe this staff is lost, and the recruiting results continue to speak for themselves.
Way tooooooo long. I got about halfway thru the 1st chapter then looked for a next post to summarize.
