Question About Recruiting

A few things here...

1. I also think Zookers acclaimed recruiting at Illinois was hyper-inflated. He did a good job, not a great job. Especially his last two years.

2. He did do a better job recruiting a couple of key athletes over the years than Iowa and other schools, which probably lead to some of that perception.

3. Iowa has always, under Ferentz and even under Fry, been known more for players development than recruiting. Which is fine in my book.

Besides, we've had some flops in the 4/5 start category...Jake Christensen for instance, just to name one.

Agreed on all accounts…

In fact Illinois has had some terrific WR’s and some high profile RBers and Db’s, though not necessarily any better than ours. At least the DB’s in particular, because they do have some very good Rbers and WR’s in the NFL.

As far as developmental guys I very much agree, but I think it’s worth noting we have had a lot, meaning a shocking amount of these 2 star recruits play very early on. So I often wonder how much real developing got done as opposed to them just being under ranked. We do seem to evaluate these guys much better and at a higher level than many…
 
People just refuse to accept that Iowa isn't among the top places kids want to go. I find it most common in fans that have virtually never stepped out of the state and have lived here most of their lives.


I think you're absolutely right.
 
I noticed this trend a couple of years ago and mentioned it here. The Hawks started targeting guys that were ranked within a point or two of being four stars. I thought it was a brilliant strategy and it has increased the overall athleticism on the team. The problem they are dealing with now stems from earlier recruiting classes. It is also why many of us are excited for the next few years.
 
I noticed this trend a couple of years ago and mentioned it here. The Hawks started targeting guys that were ranked within a point or two of being four stars. I thought it was a brilliant strategy and it has increased the overall athleticism on the team. The problem they are dealing with now stems from earlier recruiting classes. It is also why many of us are excited for the next few years.


I dont know, seems pretty obscure to me.....In 2010 they only signed 6 total players not 5.6 or higher (5.8 being a 4 star) and 3 of those…KMM, Tanner Miller and Anthony Hitchens are well on their way to being terrific Hawks.

In 2011 what look to be some of the more athletic Hawks are 5.5 to 5.2….Bullock, Canzeri, Lomax, Law, Collins, Duzey, Fisher….so I’m not sure I’m following you here.
 
wait I forgot about Bob sanders... never mind

I know you’re just being a little ornery as you and I have some nice convos, but Iowa has 15 plus 2 stars in the NFL as we speak. So it’s a great deal more than Bob Sanders and the stars do have merit, but they are still a guide, much like a black book or Kelley blue book in the car appraisal world. Far, far from being a better than just "decent" gauge.
 
Whoever made the point about Ferentz and company's evaluation is dead on. Look at how often Iowa's offer is followed by other schools. Other coaching staffs know Iowa evaluates recruits very well and that can often burn Iowa when they give a relative unknown an early offer.
 

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