Oliver Martin offered by Oregon

[Hawkfnntn]

I don't agree with this at all. Iowa had offers out to a bunch of highly talented WR's that they thought they had legit chances of landing. Some of them they did land and others they didn't. Oliver burst on the scene late in the game after Iowa already had a bunch of offers out to other WR's. Oliver had zero P5 offers until recently when he really started getting noticed at various camps.

Kids are kids. Maybe he perceives it as a slight and goes to a different school and maybe he goes to Iowa to live out his childhood dream. It could go either way but to blame Iowa or KF for not immediately jumping in with an offer when they were days/weeks away from other targets announcing their school would have been silly IMO.

I'm well aware that they had offers out to probably a dozen or so WRs. They've gotten 3 to commit 2 fairly recently. And yes Iowa obviously prioritized them over Martin hence the offers. But where I disagree with you is where he burst on the scene late. He had a great junior year of film. He plays for IC. Iowa knew all about him back then. Had been in touch with him just hadn't offered. I think they were well aware of how good he was even before some of his camp performances. I think they were trying to be judicious because he didn't have other offers. They figured they had him in their pocket in case they struck out with most of their offer list. (lets face it Iowas track record with recruiting WRs isn't that great) Hence he's the definition of a fall back recruit. But since like you said the camp circuit he's the hottest rising WR recruit out there which forced Iowa's hand. Iowa I think would have always ended up offering him. If not a grey shirt like Vandeberg at the least. But they would have liked to have done it much closer to signing day then now hoping to have more time recruiting some of the others they had higher on their list till now. Iowa when they are aware of talent they like are usually all over them.

Take Stanley last year. They got in on him really early and got an absolute steal of a kid away from Wisconsin. You see Wisky fans may look at what happened with his recruitment much the same way Iowa might with Martin if he were to go somewhere else... The biggest difference is Stanley once having committed I don't think really bounced around the camp circuit to enhance his 'brand' for a lack of a better word. I think he stayed pretty local and on the down low. He committed in June I believe very shortly after Iowa offered. I think if Iowa had offered Martin in the spring he'd have already committed. I could be wrong about that and we'll probably never know...

 

[Stanzi]

If we add Daniels and Martin to this class...wow.

 

[Hawk1960]

If we add Daniels and Martin to this class...wow.

Hopefully they decide soon. Only 5 seats left on the bus.

 

[DP5555]

If we add Daniels and Martin to this class...wow.

Yeah it would be incredible. It already is an incredible class. Those two would just keep putting it over the top. At this point nothing would surprise me. Absolutely awesome job recruiting by this staff. Winning certainly helps. The facilities certainly help. However, developing these relationships is still a huge part of the puzzle and these coaches are knocking it out of the park right now. This is definitely the best class I've seen in my lifetime. Let's hope that translates. The best part about it is the fact the highest rated kids Iowa is landing are terrific young men (Eno, Aj, and Chevin). Chevin postponed his commitment out of respect for what was going on in Dallas. That's pretty cool awareness for a 17 or 18 year old kid.

 

[deanvogs]

If we add Daniels and Martin to this class...wow.

And Van Ginkel, Nelson and Boyce.....Now that would be a dream class.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

This Oliver situation is kind of a crazy one to me. I will admit it's pretty frustrating. Most of you know I'm an avid Ferentz supporter. Always have been. Now let me preface this by saying I realize they still have plenty of time to reel Oliver in, and if they do all will be forgotten. However, I can't help but feel like they missed the boat on this one. It's frustrating because Ferentz and his staff have always been known for their ability to find diamonds in the rough. They've been known for their ability to spot talent. This kid lives within minutes of campus. I realize he has blown up in the past year, but usually a Ferentz staff would notice someone like this before it gets to this point. At the very least Iowa should have been the first Power 5 school to offer him. Had they got out in front of it that may have helped secure his commitment. Unfortunately, the kid probably has a "ohhh now you want to offer" attitude when it comes to the Iowa offer. "Once several of your rivals offer me you come calling. Before that happened I wasn't on your radar...". To put it simply... I'm sure the way Iowa handled things didn't make him feel all that wanted, and like it or not, feeling wanted is important to these young recruits.

Again, I am and still will be an ardent Ferentz supporter. In the grand scheme of things this is far from a big deal. The Hawks are still putting together an incredible class. I think this is fair criticism though. WR is a huge position of need for the Hawks. They need talent badly at WR. They should have been on this kid earlier. There's not really any excuses.

"Yep, offering early/first is always most important. It NEVER comes down to 'intangibles'..."--K Higdon, signing day 2015, R. Pierschbacher, 2013.

 

[DP5555]

"Yep, offering early/first is always most important. It NEVER comes down to 'intangibles'..."--K Higdon, signing day 2015, R. Pierschbacher, 2013.

I never said it was most important. Please place a speedbump between your brain and your fingertips.

All I'm saying is they had a huge advantage on Oliver from the beginning because he's right there in Iowa City. Maybe no one saw this kind of explosion onto the recruiting scene coming from him, but they should have. They've been good at spotting under the radar talent in the past. They should have been able to spot it right in Iowa City. They should have been the leader in his recruitment and not one of many followers. Especially when the Hawks need WR's so badly. Heck even if they had offered him right after he was voted MVP of the camp in Chicago they would have been one of his first major offers, but they still waited. I'm sure they probably thought they were going to get Buckley at that time so I understand a little bit, but it still doesn't sit right with me since this is an Iowa kid right in their own backyard.

It is what it is. Bottom line though this recruiting class is spectacular. I don't want to be a complainer. With or without Oliver they've done a hell of a job and they deserve a ton of credit for that. Let's just hope he jumps on the bandwagon and makes the class even better.

 

[deanvogs]

I never said it was most important. Please place a speedbump between your brain and your fingertips.

All I'm saying is they had a huge advantage on Oliver from the beginning because he's right there in Iowa City. Maybe no one saw this kind of explosion onto the recruiting scene coming from him, but they should have. They've been good at spotting under the radar talent in the past. They should have been able to spot it right in Iowa City. They should have been the leader in his recruitment and not one of many followers. Especially when the Hawks need WR's so badly. Heck even if they had offered him right after he was voted MVP of the camp in Chicago they would have been one of his first major offers, but they still waited. I'm sure they probably thought they were going to get Buckley at that time so I understand a little bit, but it still doesn't sit right with me since this is an Iowa kid right in their own backyard.

It is what it is. Bottom line though this recruiting class is spectacular. I don't want to be a complainer. With or without Oliver they've done a hell of a job and they deserve a ton of credit for that. Let's just hope he jumps on the bandwagon and makes the class even better.

No staff is perfect and asking them to be is silly. They saw the kids film as did others and nobody was offering until they saw him at camp this year. Iowa did the same, offered him right after he camped.

I still think he ends up a Hawk, but if not, of well, there are other kids we can take.

 

[PCHawk]

I never said it was most important. Please place a speedbump between your brain and your fingertips.

All I'm saying is they had a huge advantage on Oliver from the beginning because he's right there in Iowa City. Maybe no one saw this kind of explosion onto the recruiting scene coming from him, but they should have. They've been good at spotting under the radar talent in the past. They should have been able to spot it right in Iowa City. They should have been the leader in his recruitment and not one of many followers. Especially when the Hawks need WR's so badly. Heck even if they had offered him right after he was voted MVP of the camp in Chicago they would have been one of his first major offers, but they still waited. I'm sure they probably thought they were going to get Buckley at that time so I understand a little bit, but it still doesn't sit right with me since this is an Iowa kid right in their own backyard.

It is what it is. Bottom line though this recruiting class is spectacular. I don't want to be a complainer. With or without Oliver they've done a hell of a job and they deserve a ton of credit for that. Let's just hope he jumps on the bandwagon and makes the class even better.

I've always wondered how much luck was involved with finding diamonds in the rough. A situation like this does make one wonder that maybe there is more luck than people think. If they were good at spotting talent, how did they possibly miss this? I can definitely see that logic.

 

[PCHawk]

No staff is perfect and asking them to be is silly. They saw the kids film as did others and nobody was offering until they saw him at camp this year. Iowa did the same, offered him right after he camped.

I still think he ends up a Hawk, but if not, of well, there are other kids we can take.

I also agree with this. But there is a big difference between being perfect and not seeing something so obvious that's right in front of you.

 

[David79]

Oh my god. Stop with the they should have offered him sooner bull crap. No one was offering him sooner. I don't think anyone saw this coming and frankly if you see his Junior film it isn't that impressive from a speed standpoint but it appears he has really been working on that as his 40 time keeps getting better. They wanted to see him in camp and they offered him off of that performance. I can guarantee you that they have been recruiting him longer than that. And he may not be a huge Hawk fan just because he lives in Iowa City. He may want to leave home for school and whether Iowa gets him will not be based on when they offered. If he likes Iowa and what they have to offer he will choose them. If he wants to go somewhere else, good luck to him.

 

[David79]

They still have a chance to land him or Greenwood or Buckley and any of those guys would be great. Really out of all of them I would take Greenwood first. If it is one thing that Iowa has missed at WR is a tall WR who can fly. Kid has 4.4 speed and is 6'3.

 

[DP5555]

I also agree with this. But there is a big difference between being perfect and not seeing something so obvious that's right in front of you.

Exactly. To say I'm expecting perfection is ridiculous. That's not the case at all. I don't think it's unfair to suggest they should have offered him sooner. Hindsight is always 20/20 though.

 

[Realistic]

I was a senior when Oliver was a freshman and everyone of us that saw him in practice knew that he was gonna be at this level...I think the problem last year and maybe this season is that he won't have a great qb so he won't have out of this world stats

 

[deanvogs]

I also agree with this. But there is a big difference between being perfect and not seeing something so obvious that's right in front of you.

How was it obvious? Nobody, and I mean nobody offered the kid before he camped with them. He made it obvious at camps and so teams offered.

 

[PCHawk]

How was it obvious? Nobody, and I mean nobody offered the kid before he camped with them. He made it obvious at camps and so teams offered.

I'm not saying it should have been obvious to any school other than Iowa and I'm not saying it should have been obvious to the general public. I'm saying it should have been and probably was obvious to iowa. They might think the other kids are all better tho. At this point, judging by the teams offering him, there is a good chance they're wrong on that tho.

 

[deanvogs]

I'm not saying it should have been obvious to any school other than Iowa and I'm not saying it should have been obvious to the general public. I'm saying it should have been and probably was obvious to iowa. They might think the other kids are all better tho. At this point, judging by the teams offering him, there is a good chance they're wrong on that tho.

I think If Iowa thought they had that good of a WR right in their backyard, they would have offered. I think he camped at Iowa a year ago, and no early offer. This time he camps and instant offer. I can't believe that if he put up the eye popping numbers that he is this year that Iowa sits and waits to offer. My guess is kid got a lot better over the last year.

 

[PCHawk]

I think If Iowa thought they had that good of a WR right in their backyard, they would have offered. I think he camped at Iowa a year ago, and no early offer. This time he camps and instant offer. I can't believe that if he put up the eye popping numbers that he is this year that Iowa sits and waits to offer. My guess is kid got a lot better over the last year.

I don't remember, did he camp somewhere else before iowa and that's how he got other offers first?

 

[FreddyHawk]

I don't remember, did he camp somewhere else before iowa and that's how he got other offers first?

As I recall, we say him at the open in Chicago, then he camped at mn or wi, who offered, then we did just before msu did. That's pretty close to how it went anyhow.

 

[PCHawk]

As I recall, we say him at the open in Chicago, then he camped at mn or wi, who offered, then we did just before msu did. That's pretty close to how it went anyhow.

I thought there was down time from when Iowa saw him to when they offered.