For All You Bears Fans - Gale Sayers Wanted to Be a Hawkeye.

[homes]

From his Wikipedia page:

Sayers was recruited by several major Midwestern colleges before deciding to play college football at the University of Kansas. While being interviewed during a broadcast of a Chicago Cubs game on September 8, 2010, Sayers said he had originally intended to go to the University of Iowa. Sayers said that he decided against going to Iowa after the Iowa head coach, Jerry Burns, did not have time to meet Sayers during his one campus visit.[3] During his Jayhawks career, he rushed for 2,675 yards and gained a Big Eight Conference-record 4,020 all-purpose yards.[4] He was three times recognized as a first-team All–Big Eight selection and was a consensus pick for the College Football All-America Team in both 1963 and 1964.[5]

No wonder Iowa didn't have a winning record for 19 straight seasons.

 

[EstronHawkKing]

Burns was to busy losing at Iowa to meet with Gale.

 

[chucktownhawk]

And now we're stuck with Trubisky and an ISU running back for F sake

 

[westender]

whoops

 

[SteveGarvey1]

How did the program that won two Rose Bowls in the late 50's turn into such a clown show by the 70's?

 

[Northside Hawk]

How did the program that won two Rose Bowls in the late 50's turn into such a clown show by the 70's?

Evy was a better coach than athletic director and should have stayed in the former for at least another ten years.

 

[SmokeTownHawk]

Evy was a better coach than athletic director and should have stayed in the former for at least another ten years.

If he'd have stayed as HC, Evy would've been mentioned in the same company as people like Bryant or Devaney.

 

[Northside Hawk]

If he'd have stayed as HC, Evy would've been mentioned in the same company as people like Bryant or Devaney.

Does anyone know why Sayers didn't consider Devaney and Nebraska?

That would have been even more in his back yard than Iowa.

 

[westender]

How did the program that won two Rose Bowls in the late 50's turn into such a clown show by the 70's?

Evy's big head.

 

[ssckelley]

If he'd have stayed as HC, Evy would've been mentioned in the same company as people like Bryant or Devaney.

I wonder if Devaney would have never had as much success without Evy screwing up the Iowa football program. I don't know how many recruits went to Nebraska instead of Iowa but I can't help but wonder if Nebraska getting really good as Iowa got really bad was a coincidence. 1961 was when the wheels started falling off the Iowa football program while 1962 was Devaney's first season and they went 9-2 (3-6-1 the previous year).

2 football programs in the midwest going in the opposite direction, perhaps they had nothing to do with each other but I wonder.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

Learned something new today. I never knew any of that. But dang. I kinda wish I still didn't...

 

[Northside Hawk]

I wonder if Devaney would have never had as much success without Evy screwing up the Iowa football program. I don't know how many recruits went to Nebraska instead of Iowa but I can't help but wonder if Nebraska getting really good as Iowa got really bad was a coincidence. 1961 was when the wheels started falling off the Iowa football program while 1962 was Devaney's first season and they went 9-2 (3-6-1 the previous year).

2 football programs in the midwest going in the opposite direction, perhaps they had nothing to do with each other but I wonder.

Devaney would bring in huge amounts of freshmen every year, literally dozens and dozens. Farm kids, city kids, street kids, kids from mining towns, just a potpourri of humanity. He would then whittle down and weed out from there and the survivors would get scholarships.

One of the survivors who stuck it out, and ended up being a starter before he was done, was a linebacker from Pennsylvania named Alvarez.

 

[ssckelley]

Devaney would bring in huge amounts of freshmen every year, literally dozens and dozens. Farm kids, city kids, street kids, kids from mining towns, just a potpourri of humanity. He would then whittle down and weed out from there and the survivors would get scholarships.

One of the survivors who stuck it out, and ended up being a starter before he was done, was a linebacker from Pennsylvania named Alvarez.

I doubt he was able to do that from the beginning. Again Nebraska was a nobody in the football world before 1962. I'm sure recruiting was way different back then but it seems like it was no coincidence that Iowa fell the same time Nebraska turned into a football power. Maybe some of those farm boys from the western side of the state started going to Nebraska instead of Iowa, maybe Iowa used to get good talent out of Omaha. One thing we do know is Evy screwed up the athletic department, who knows where Iowa would be today had he remained as football coach instead of becoming the AD.

 

[SmokeTownHawk]

I doubt he was able to do that from the beginning. Again Nebraska was a nobody in the football world before 1962. I'm sure recruiting was way different back then but it seems like it was no coincidence that Iowa fell the same time Nebraska turned into a football power. Maybe some of those farm boys from the western side of the state started going to Nebraska instead of Iowa, maybe Iowa used to get good talent out of Omaha. One thing we do know is Evy screwed up the athletic department, who knows where Iowa would be today had he remained as football coach instead of becoming the AD.

Most likely contending for a few of the titles Devaney got as well as a couple more.