Active Iowa Seems to be playing Money Ball in the Portal

I think for Iowa it will continue to be a balance. I don't see KF ever going Coach Prime and turning over his roster with 30 portal kids. That said, the portal in the past has been used to plug holes in a couple of starting positions. This year, I think we are seeing more use of the portal as a means to bolster depth and development. Many of these guys are not going to see much PT next year, but they may the year after that. I still see Iowa taking 15-20 high school kids a year, and supplementing that with overlooked guys emerging at the FCS level to keep the talent pipeline robust. Its a prudent development strategy.
 
We'll see how this year's crop pans out, but I don't think Iowa has exactly found its footing in the first few years of the portal system. (Understandable, it's all new). Pretty mixed results, including the kids from FCS.

I'd also push back on the narrative that Indiana built its team around lower level kids. That was part of it, but they also brought in a lot of good players from P4 schools.

Whatever Cignetti is looking for, he seems to have it dialed in. His GM skills probably surpass his coaching ability.
 
Fryowa said:
I'm wondering when this is going to trickle down to high school on a large scale. Contrary to what most people think, it's legal.

https://nfhs.org/stories/name-image-and-likeness-for-interscholastic-athletes-what-does-it-look-like

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Oh its here. My cousin has a son in Texas who plays junior varsity at a mega high school in Austin. I have received a number of fundraising emails requesting donations to the JUNIOR VARSITY NIL fund. I asked my cousin where the money goes and he says some of it goes to meals and bells and whistles, but some of it is paid directly to kids to keep them at their current school. He said his coach does not really attempt to poach kids from other schools, but that is definitely a thing. Again, this is the JV team. The school has a varsity team, JV, and three freshmen teams. Football is king in Texas.
 
SwirlinLingerie said:
We'll see how this year's crop pans out, but I don't think Iowa has exactly found its footing in the first few years of the portal system. (Understandable, it's all new). Pretty mixed results, including the kids from FCS.

I'd also push back on the narrative that Indiana built its team around lower level kids. That was part of it, but they also brought in a lot of good players from P4 schools.

Whatever Cignetti is looking for, he seems to have it dialed in. His GM skills probably surpass his coaching ability.
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I think KF has been pretty effective in the limited useage of the portal since NIL came into play. There are always going to be more misses than hits in every class.

McNamara was a great get, but the kid could not stay healthy and he did not have the best team around him. Erick All was on his way to big things before he blew his knee. Again, that is the luck of the draw.

Seth Anderson has been a solid contributor. Same with Gill. Same with Phillips.

Stratton and Sully provided needed depth due to the injury bug in the QB room.

Gronowski was a great get and my only regret is that we only had him for a year. He was really coming on the last half of the season.

I am excited about Hecklinski, but that remains to be seen.

Nick Jackson was a grand slam.
 
Fryowa said:
I'm wondering when this is going to trickle down to high school on a large scale. Contrary to what most people think, it's legal.

https://nfhs.org/stories/name-image-and-likeness-for-interscholastic-athletes-what-does-it-look-like

View attachment 11923
Click to expand...
I thought I read some stories where some high schools in the Vegas area as well as Texas had been getting some pretty big money for players as far back as a couple years ago so it is well in effect. As far as dealerships giving cars etc I am sure there is more legality to that as they are minors but there have always been ways around that. The money some of the bigger high profile schools around the country get is more than some small colleges and their facilities are top notch.

I coached Varsity Football with a guy that moved up from Texas that was just getting his feet wet in football coaching in High School. He played pro basketball in Asia for awhile. He was a low level assistant at a big school outside Houston (can't remember which one) but his staff was around 20 guys, most of them volunteers. They worked an insane amount of hours and work was required on all days but they started later on Sunday due to church. His mom was dying of cancer and asked the head coach to travel back to Nebraska to see her. The coach never really gave him permission but said if you feel it is necessary to go and do this during the season with our big games coming up then you need to do what you need to do but it could reflect on you in the future or something like that. He asked around to the other faculty and they couldn't believe the head coach said that and told him to quit. Completely different animal in Texas
 
NorthKCHawk said:
I think KF has been pretty effective in the limited useage of the portal since NIL came into play. There are always going to be more misses than hits in every class.

McNamara was a great get, but the kid could not stay healthy and he did not have the best team around him. Erick All was on his way to big things before he blew his knee. Again, that is the luck of the draw.

Seth Anderson has been a solid contributor. Same with Gill. Same with Phillips.

Stratton and Sully provided needed depth due to the injury bug in the QB room.

Gronowski was a great get and my only regret is that we only had him for a year. He was really coming on the last half of the season.

I am excited about Hecklinski, but that remains to be seen.

Nick Jackson was a grand slam.
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Uh, Seth Anderson had 15 catches for 160 yards TOTAL over his last two years. That's one catch every other game.

Sam Phillips had 16 catches total this year. Granted, Iowa's passing game has struggled, but that was pretty non-existent production from two of the three portal WRs. Not really sure they would have done any worse with a couple walk-ons.

And you are leaving out whiffing on Bryce George and Shahid Barros this year. Those guys never played and are gone now.

Several other whiffs in '23 and '24 too.

Just saying the track record is pretty mixed, and we forget about the lower level guys who came in and didn't play (not to mention others like Brown, Big Deac, etc.).
 
SwirlinLingerie said:
Uh, Seth Anderson had 15 catches for 160 yards TOTAL over his last two years. That's one catch every other game.

Sam Phillips had 16 catches total this year. Granted, Iowa's passing game has struggled, but that was pretty non-existent production from two of the three portal WRs. Not really sure they would have done any worse with a couple walk-ons.

And you are leaving out whiffing on Bryce George and Shahid Barros this year. Those guys never played and are gone now.

Several other whiffs in '23 and '24 too.

Just saying the track record is pretty mixed, and we forget about the lower level guys who came in and didn't play (not to mention others like Brown, Big Deac, etc.).
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As for the WRs, have you seen Iowa's passing game the last 5 years? The numbers you quoted are salty for Iowa!! Those guys, while not making a lot of catches because they were not thrown a lot of balls, still started and contributed through blocking and really awesome fake 9 routes. I can't see how you can call kids who come in are named starters as failures. For Iowa of late, those are the numbers you get from WRS. Iowa has not had a really productive WR since DJK.

As for the others you mentioned, I said it my previous post that you always have more misses than hits. In any given year, programs bring in 25-30 kids through high school, portal and walk on. The roster limit is 105. On any given game, maybe 45-50 kids actually see the field. Even in a culture school like Iowa, the number of kids that start at Iowa and finish at Iowa after 4-5 years is what, like 15? Definitionally, every kid that is brought in has about a 50/50 success rate. Really, its lower than that.

If you want 100% success rate out of the portal, I am not sure which Disney Park to send you to.
 
I think we're saying the same thing. That Iowa has had mixed results from the portal.

I have a hard time thinking the Iowa coaches weren't disappointed in Anderson and Phillips' production.

If you think you need to go to the portal and pay a kid to get 160 yards receiving total over 26 games (less than 5 yards a game receiving!), than I don't know which Disney Park to send you to.

Ever think the WRs maybe played a role in the anemic passing game? If you want less than 5 yards a game receiving and good blocking, you don't need the portal to get that kind of player. Any number of hard working, all-state level Iowa kids without other P5 offers can do that.
 
I can’t add anything to this thread. I think they deserve a A-/B+ in what they did in the portal. Kirk is 105 years old, but he understands that Iowa is developmental program. They are not going to overpay for dudes. I don’t understand why the fanbase, wants them to spend money…just to spend money.
 
SwirlinLingerie said:
I think we're saying the same thing. That Iowa has had mixed results from the portal.

I have a hard time thinking the Iowa coaches weren't disappointed in Anderson and Phillips' production.

If you think you need to go to the portal and pay a kid to get 160 yards receiving total over 26 games (less than 5 yards a game receiving!), than I don't know which Disney Park to send you to.

Ever think the WRs maybe played a role in the anemic passing game? If you want less than 5 yards a game receiving and good blocking, you don't need the portal to get that kind of player. Any number of hard working, all-state level Iowa kids without other P5 offers can do that.
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I am sure everyone would have loved to have found better options at WRs at the price we could afford. Those guys did not want to come to Iowa, so we got who we got and did the best we could at that position. Hopefully things in that regard improve as we implement Air Hecklinski next year. That kid we got from Texas looks salty. VZ is back. The TE room will be stacked. There are pieces there.
 
A lot of fans salivate over the highly ranked HS recruit that goes to a P4 school, doesn't get much playing time, and then enters the portal (ala Kaleb Brown, who btw only had 17 for 255 at U of Alabama-Birmingham this season). I would much rather get the guy who was under the radar, goes to a lower-level school, and tears it up.

Now, if we could have gotten a big producer from a P4 school (e.g. Nick Marsh), that would be great. But I would take Tony Diaz with 3 years of eligibility left over P4 castoffs any day of the week.
 
CP87 said:
A lot of fans salivate over the highly ranked HS recruit that goes to a P4 school, doesn't get much playing time, and then enters the portal (ala Kaleb Brown, who btw only had 17 for 255 at U of Alabama-Birmingham this season). I would much rather get the guy who was under the radar, goes to a lower-level school, and tears it up.

Now, if we could have gotten a big producer from a P4 school (e.g. Nick Marsh), that would be great. But I would take Tony Diaz with 3 years of eligibility left over P4 castoffs any day of the week.
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Yes. Of course it also depends on where your program is currently at. Iowa's program is on very solid footing, has a history of success and stability, and can play the long, developmental game. Nebraska, on the other hand, has brought in 16 transfers thus far...10 are from Power5 programs and all but 2 are from D-1 programs. Some teams have more immediate needs than others.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
As for the WRs, have you seen Iowa's passing game the last 5 years? The numbers you quoted are salty for Iowa!! Those guys, while not making a lot of catches because they were not thrown a lot of balls, still started and contributed through blocking and really awesome fake 9 routes. I can't see how you can call kids who come in are named starters as failures. For Iowa of late, those are the numbers you get from WRS. Iowa has not had a really productive WR since DJK.

As for the others you mentioned, I said it my previous post that you always have more misses than hits. In any given year, programs bring in 25-30 kids through high school, portal and walk on. The roster limit is 105. On any given game, maybe 45-50 kids actually see the field. Even in a culture school like Iowa, the number of kids that start at Iowa and finish at Iowa after 4-5 years is what, like 15? Definitionally, every kid that is brought in has about a 50/50 success rate. Really, its lower than that.

If you want 100% success rate out of the portal, I am not sure which Disney Park to send you to.
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I would give the Iowa program a "C" in portal success.
For every Nick Jackson or Mark Gronowski, we have two George / Barros / Phillips / Anderson's.

The question in my mind continues to be:
"Is this a talent evaluation problem with the Iowa staff OR Is this the best Iowa can get based on the offer (culture?) on the table?"
 
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SCHawkeye2 said:
I would give the Iowa program a "C" in portal success.
For every Nick Jackson or Mark Gronowski, we have two George / Barros / Phillips / Anderson's.

The question in my mind continues to be:
"Is this a talent evaluation problem with the Iowa staff OR Is this the best Iowa can get based on the offer (culture?) on the table?"
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Respectfully, your grading system is quite flawed. Unless you think C is a good grade.

Again, every kid that comes on campus is a 50/50 proposition. At best. That is not just true at Iowa. Its true pretty much everywhere. Half the kids wash out and never make the field for the team that brings them in.

I would give Iowa a solid B+ in the portal. They use it in a very targeted way and find guys that fit their system for the limited holes they need to fill. Predicting whether a kid will thrive in your program based upon tape, a weekend on campus, and limited due diligence is not science. Its instinct and almost every coach gets it wrong half the time. I still maintain that KF and staff are better than most at evaluating under recruited talent and finding guys that out kick their proverbial coverage. No one does 2 stars to NFL rosters better than Iowa.
 
SCHawkeye2 said:
I would give the Iowa program a "C" in portal success.
For every Nick Jackson or Mark Gronowski, we have two George / Barros / Phillips / Anderson's.

The question in my mind continues to be:
"Is this a talent evaluation problem with the Iowa staff OR Is this the best Iowa can get based on the offer (culture?) on the table?"
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A few other hits:

Zach VanValkenburg came from DII with 2 years of eligibility (he also got a 3rd year for COVID). In his final season with the Hawks, he was voted our defensive MVP and was 2nd team all-conference with 5.5 sacks and 15 tackles-for-loss.

Jack Heflin was an add from N Illinois in 2020, he started at DT for his one year at Iowa.

Charlie Jones came from Buffalo, and at Iowa earned 2nd team B1G honors as a punt return specialist in his first year playing, and was the Rodgers/Dwight return specialist of the year the following season. He then moved to Purdue the following season and became all-American.

Jacob Gill was our leading WR the last 2 years, was a great leader, and may have been the best blocking WR we have ever had (he played a significant role in many of KJ's big runs in 2024).

Hayden Large has been a critical piece to our offense as fullback and H-back over the last 2 years.

CC additions such as Daviyon Nixon, Mekhi Sargent, and Kaden Wetjen have worked out pretty well.

It is a numbers game, most of the guys you bring in are not going to be good enough to displace your current players, especially if they have only 1 year. I like the fact that we are targeting guys that have proven themselves in college, even at a lower level, who have multiple years to contribute. I guess time will tell, but this is exacly the strategy I would suggest for a team that doesn't have the deepest pockets.

We also shouldn't neglect that pretty much every year, Iowa has the FEWEST players that enter the portal (true again this year). Some of our pot is going towards retaining current players and keeping those on-campus happy. That matters a lot. You can always go chasing the shiny objects in the portal hoping that maybe they are going to be better than what you have, but you risk destroying the culture that has made you one of the most consistently successful programs in college FB for the past 25 years.
 
SwirlinLingerie said:
I think we're saying the same thing. That Iowa has had mixed results from the portal.

I have a hard time thinking the Iowa coaches weren't disappointed in Anderson and Phillips' production.

If you think you need to go to the portal and pay a kid to get 160 yards receiving total over 26 games (less than 5 yards a game receiving!), than I don't know which Disney Park to send you to.

Ever think the WRs maybe played a role in the anemic passing game? If you want less than 5 yards a game receiving and good blocking, you don't need the portal to get that kind of player. Any number of hard working, all-state level Iowa kids without other P5 offers can do that.
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Anderson started with a bang but just couldn't stay healthy.
 
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