Friendly Advice to LB Commit Jestin Jacobs

IowaLawWasRight

IowaLawWasRight

Well-Known Member
It has to be flattering to get a last minute offer from a blue blood like Ohio State. You grew up in Ohio, the Buckeye state. If history is any indication, OSU will be vying for Big 10 titles every year you are in college. Who wouldn't love that?

Here are the problems I foresee ahead if you jump at their fall-back offer:

1. OSU is riddled with scandal. The odds are good that they will have another during your college career
2. OSU is a program in flux. They just lost their head coach and no one knows what the future will be there. Who will be the defensive coordinator next year? LB coach?
3. OSU over-recruits stud LBs each and every year. Look at their roster to see who you will be competing with for playing time:

2019 - 4**** LB Tommy Eichenburg; 4**** LB Cade Stover
2018 - 5***** LB Teraja Mitchell; 4**** LB J Jean Baptiste; 4**** LB K'Vaugh Pope; 4**** LB Dallas Grant

All 6 of them will be freshmen next year! Ouch. Those six will be competing with the 2 more 5***** LBs from the class of 2017. Obviously they don't need any more LBs, but they gave you a fall-back offer anyway. I am sure you are confident in your abilities, but let's face it, the stable is full. Next year they will turn around and do it all over again, bringing in more blue chip LB recruits and letting 2 or 3 wash out of the program.

You follow Iowa football. You know that LB was one of the weakest positions on the field this year. You know the 2019 recruiting class. The only stud LB we recruited at the position in this class or in the past 4 years, for that matter, is...YOU. You would be a lock at seeing reps by your sophomore year.

You can play on the same stage as OSU, play the same opponents, have the same exposure, but your chances of starting and getting what you need to play in the NFL increase exponentially.

Enjoy your visit to OSU this weekend and get the closure you need before enrolling at Iowa next month. Go Hawks!
 
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IowaLawWasRight said:
It has to be flattering to get a last minute offer from a blue blood like Ohio State. You grew up in Ohio, the Buckeye state. If history is any indication, OSU will be vying for Big 10 titles every year you are in college. Who wouldn't love that?

Here are the problems I foresee ahead if you jump at their fall-back offer:

OSU is riddled with scandal. The odds are good that they will have another during your college career
OSU is a program in flux. They just lost their head coach and no one knows what the future will be there. Who will be the defensive coordinator next year? LB coach?
OSU over-recruits stud LBs each and every year. Look at their roster to see who you will be competing with for playing time:

2019 - 4**** LB Tommy Eichenburg; 4**** LB Cade Stover
2018 - 5***** LB Teraja Mitchell; 4**** LB J Jean Baptiste; 4**** LB K'Vaugh Pope; 4**** LB Dallas Grant

All 6 of them will be freshmen next year! Ouch. Those six will be competing with the two 5***** LBs from the class of 2017. Obviously they don't need any more LBs, but they gave you a fall-back offer anyway. I am sure you are confident in your abilities, but let's face it, the stable is full. Next year they will turn around and do it all over again, bringing in more blue chip LB recruits and letting 2 or 3 wash out of the program.

You follow Iowa football and know that LB was one of the weakest positions on the field for the Hawks. The only stud LB we have recruited at the position in the past 4 years is...YOU. You can play on the same stage as OSU, play the same opponents, have the same exposure, but your chances of starting and getting what you need to play in the NFL increase exponentially.

Enjoy your visit to OSU this weekend and get the closure you need before enrolling at Iowa next month. Go Hawks!
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This is sound advice, but the allure of free tattoos, cars, bling, and wife-beating assistant coaches might be too much to fend off.
 
HawkleberryFinn said:
This is sound advice, but the allure of free tattoos, cars, bling, and wife-beating assistant coaches might be too much to fend off.
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Ha I dunno if fall back recruits at OSU receive the same treatment Pryor got.. There's levels to it haha.

As far as what the OP wrote I would like to think this young man would consider EVERYTHING when making this decision. And for most kids PT and the chance for it earlier than later seems to be at the top of the list for most of them. Well Iowa clearly has the more clear cut path to PT for him compared to OSU. Hell he'll be lucky to see the field till he's a JR or SR.

Ya'll remember Justin Hilliard? The Ohio kid we were in on because of his brother coming here for a cup of coffee. Well he was a 5 star top 3 or 4 overall LB of his class. He's a RS Junior now and hardly plays... I mean hardly plays at all and is not even remotely impacting their games... Here's his stats for ya.... So If I'm Jacobs he's got something kinda similar to look at right here.

http://www.espn.com/college-football/player/_/id/3915523/justin-hilliard
 
IowaLawWasRight said:
It has to be flattering to get a last minute offer from a blue blood like Ohio State. You grew up in Ohio, the Buckeye state. If history is any indication, OSU will be vying for Big 10 titles every year you are in college. Who wouldn't love that?

Here are the problems I foresee ahead if you jump at their fall-back offer:

OSU is riddled with scandal. The odds are good that they will have another during your college career
OSU is a program in flux. They just lost their head coach and no one knows what the future will be there. Who will be the defensive coordinator next year? LB coach?
OSU over-recruits stud LBs each and every year. Look at their roster to see who you will be competing with for playing time:

2019 - 4**** LB Tommy Eichenburg; 4**** LB Cade Stover
2018 - 5***** LB Teraja Mitchell; 4**** LB J Jean Baptiste; 4**** LB K'Vaugh Pope; 4**** LB Dallas Grant

All 6 of them will be freshmen next year! Ouch. Those six will be competing with the two 5***** LBs from the class of 2017. Obviously they don't need any more LBs, but they gave you a fall-back offer anyway. I am sure you are confident in your abilities, but let's face it, the stable is full. Next year they will turn around and do it all over again, bringing in more blue chip LB recruits and letting 2 or 3 wash out of the program.

You follow Iowa football and know that LB was one of the weakest positions on the field for the Hawks. The only stud LB we have recruited at the position in the past 4 years is...YOU. You can play on the same stage as OSU, play the same opponents, have the same exposure, but your chances of starting and getting what you need to play in the NFL increase exponentially.

Enjoy your visit to OSU this weekend and get the closure you need before enrolling at Iowa next month. Go Hawks!
Click to expand...
Lol!!
 
Reasonable points of consideration but I’m quite sure OSU is quite capable of presenting the opportunity through a different prism and they will have plenty of ammunition and capable staff personnel to do so.

I would think the potential playing time element might be key for Iowa. OSU has an edge being the last card to play to the emotional side of Jacob's decision making in face to face fashion.
 
If our only argument is that OSU only recruits the best players...well...we will lose him. I disagree with the fact that we don't have any studs at LB. Colbert is a stud. He was a redshirt freshman playing his first year at LB after being a safety. That's a huge task to take on. The fact that he was the guy that played more than any other linebacker tells you something. If you watch closely...as the season end neared...he was around the ball all the time...in the run game and the passing game. He's going to be all-big ten before he's done.

I'm also intrigued by others. Welsh is a young player, Doyle has gotten some pub. MacDonald was highly recruited. Neiman, prior to getting hurt was a playmaker. The cupboard is hardly bare.
 
WinOneThisCentury said:
If our only argument is that OSU only recruits the best players...well...we will lose him. I disagree with the fact that we don't have any studs at LB. Colbert is a stud. He was a redshirt freshman playing his first year at LB after being a safety. That's a huge task to take on. The fact that he was the guy that played more than any other linebacker tells you something. If you watch closely...as the season end neared...he was around the ball all the time...in the run game and the passing game. He's going to be all-big ten before he's done.

I'm also intrigued by others. Welsh is a young player, Doyle has gotten some pub. MacDonald was highly recruited. Neiman, prior to getting hurt was a playmaker. The cupboard is hardly bare.
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Yes I would have liked to hear why Welsh didnt get his middle lbkr spot back after his injury. I think Welsh started one or two games ahead of Hockaday and Jones before Hock. I thought he did ok but I wasnt watching his play that specifically, it seems posters on here said he played well and then in the last few losses people were complaining about Hockaday. And yes I seemed to think Hockaday was missing some gaps, etc

What was the deal with Welsh
 
But it seems like all those highly-recruited kids see the potential depth chart ahead of them and still see themselves beating out all that talent. Another reason why little old Ioway doesn't land many blue chippers.
 
SmokeTownHawk said:
But it seems like all those highly-recruited kids see the potential depth chart ahead of them and still see themselves beating out all that talent. Another reason why little old Ioway doesn't land many blue chippers.
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Very strange how so many 18 year olds who you would think would have a shot at play as Soph or RS Frosh will go to more blue blood school and may never play. Maybe some are betting they will have Conference and Natty Champ rings at some time. Iowa is still a top 25-30 school and with a couple more wins some years they are top 10 to top 20 so playing 3 years all the time would seem to be the better route when you are playing the same competition
 
IowaLawWasRight said:
It
Enjoy your visit to OSU this weekend and get the closure you need before enrolling at Iowa next month. Go Hawks!
Click to expand...

By the way Hodge, Hitchens, Jewell, neimann, Kirksey, and a few more Lbkrs from Iowa say hello. My mind is brain dead on our all american who was all pro with the Vikings for years
 
WinOne - to say that Colbert is a "stud" by virtue of the fact that he got playing time at Iowa's weakest position group is faulty logic. That's like saying Raestetter was a stud punter because he took every snap at punter this year. Colbert may very well turn out to be a star LB, but he played this year because Iowa had no talent at the position.

Larrystation - telling a guy who is choosing between Iowa and OSU that Iowa puts LBs in the NFL isn't an argument that will gain us any ground. OSU (and most top teams) put guys in the NFL. OSU has 4 LBs on NFL rosters right now. Iowa also has 4 LBs on NFL rosters.

The only way to beat a blue blood on the recruiting trail is to play to Iowa's strengths...immediate playing time vs. being buried behind 8 other guys who are just as good as him. Coaching staff stability used to be a huge selling point, but let's face it, what are the odds that Kirk will be around in 5 yrs? 50/50 at best?


WinOneThisCentury said:
If our only argument is that OSU only recruits the best players...well...we will lose him. I disagree with the fact that we don't have any studs at LB. Colbert is a stud. He was a redshirt freshman playing his first year at LB after being a safety. That's a huge task to take on. The fact that he was the guy that played more than any other linebacker tells you something. If you watch closely...as the season end neared...he was around the ball all the time...in the run game and the passing game. He's going to be all-big ten before he's done.

I'm also intrigued by others. Welsh is a young player, Doyle has gotten some pub. MacDonald was highly recruited. Neiman, prior to getting hurt was a playmaker. The cupboard is hardly bare.
Click to expand...
 
WinOneThisCentury said:
If our only argument is that OSU only recruits the best players...well...we will lose him. I disagree with the fact that we don't have any studs at LB. Colbert is a stud. He was a redshirt freshman playing his first year at LB after being a safety. That's a huge task to take on. The fact that he was the guy that played more than any other linebacker tells you something. If you watch closely...as the season end neared...he was around the ball all the time...in the run game and the passing game. He's going to be all-big ten before he's done.

I'm also intrigued by others. Welsh is a young player, Doyle has gotten some pub. MacDonald was highly recruited. Neiman, prior to getting hurt was a playmaker. The cupboard is hardly bare.
Click to expand...

All these are facts, but there is still a great chance he could start next year. Jose jewell and Morris both started as freshmen.
 
I love how he's a hard Iowa commit but 247 has his crystal ball predictions split 50/50 sparty and buckeyes.

I'm sure if Ohio State brings out all the bells and whistles and tells him everything he wants to hear he will be gone. And that will really blow for Iowa
 
IowaLawWasRight said:
WinOne - to say that Colbert is a "stud" by virtue of the fact that he got playing time at Iowa's weakest position group is faulty logic. That's like saying Raestetter was a stud punter because he took every snap at punter this year. Colbert may very well turn out to be a star LB, but he played this year because Iowa had no talent at the position.

Larrystation - telling a guy who is choosing between Iowa and OSU that Iowa puts LBs in the NFL isn't an argument that will gain us any ground. OSU (and most top teams) put guys in the NFL. OSU has 4 LBs on NFL rosters right now. Iowa also has 4 LBs on NFL rosters.

The only way to beat a blue blood on the recruiting trail is to play to Iowa's strengths...immediate playing time vs. being buried behind 8 other guys who are just as good as him. Coaching staff stability used to be a huge selling point, but let's face it, what are the odds that Kirk will be around in 5 yrs? 50/50 at best?
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I’d say the fact that OSU and Iowa have 4 each on rosters is a big up to Iowa’s staff/coaching. If based nearly off stars OSU is terrible at getting high end talent at LB in the league compared to Iowa. Not even close and OSU staff has failed in this regard. I think he stays Iowa FYI
 
All I'm gunna say is that Iowa, similar to TE's, have prepared LB's very well to play in the NFL, and to contribute right away in the NFL. They also get them NFL ready. Iowa's program is one that might mimick an NFL program the most, the way they prepare them, the style of play and the way they run their camps and practice. NFL execs love Iowa players, that's for sure.

You can either ride the pine and hope the helmet you wear gets you to the NFL or you can have Iowa develop you, and let your play showcase your talent.
 
mopkins said:
I love how he's a hard Iowa commit but 247 has his crystal ball predictions split 50/50 sparty and buckeyes.

I'm sure if Ohio State brings out all the bells and whistles and tells him everything he wants to hear he will be gone. And that will really blow for Iowa
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The Sparty prediction was pre-commitment.
 
MelroseHawkins said:
All I'm gunna say is that Iowa, similar to TE's, have prepared LB's very well to play in the NFL, and to contribute right away in the NFL. They also get them NFL ready. Iowa's program is one that might mimick an NFL program the most, the way they prepare them, the style of play and the way they run their camps and practice. NFL execs love Iowa players, that's for sure.

You can either ride the pine and hope the helmet you wear gets you to the NFL or you can have Iowa develop you, and let your play showcase your talent.
Click to expand...

I'll be interested to see how Pierschbacher does in the NFL draft. I seriously doubt he'll ever regret flipping to bama last second, but maybe in the long term he would have been a better overall player under the Iowa system. Impossible to tell, but will be fun to speculate
 
MelroseHawkins said:
All I'm gunna say is that Iowa, similar to TE's, have prepared LB's very well to play in the NFL, and to contribute right away in the NFL. They also get them NFL ready. Iowa's program is one that might mimick an NFL program the most, the way they prepare them, the style of play and the way they run their camps and practice. NFL execs love Iowa players, that's for sure.

You can either ride the pine and hope the helmet you wear gets you to the NFL or you can have Iowa develop you, and let your play showcase your talent.
Click to expand...
Yeah and it's not just LBs on D. Iowa is a very sneaky good feeder program for the NFL. We've been sending DBs LBs and DL to the league pretty steadily lately. Not so much as flashy top 1st rounders but guys that are starting level talent and making impacts on their teams. We should for sure be a program kids wouldn't want to ignore looking at if the NFL is on your radar. Which is why when guys like Creamer transfer out it kinda makes me scratch my head.
As far as fit/opportunity goes Jacobs won't find a better one than what he has at Iowa. Could he go to OSU and have a great time living close to home? I'm sure but he'll have to be better than he thinks he is to get to play anytime soon there....
 
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