Recruiting is a grind and takes hard work

hawkinstl

Well-Known Member
About 3 or 4 weeks ago, I believe during the NW game, the announcers talked about a conversation they had with KF regarding Wirfs.

KF told them if Wirfs was from the Chicago area he would have never had a shot at him. He said the only reason he chose Iowa was because his home is close to Iowa City.

Did KF feel this way when he was recruiting guys like Bulaga out of the Chicago area?

Sorry, but my perception is the hard work it takes to land recruits outside of Iowa is starting to wear on KF.

Sadly, he's fooled a lot of fans into believing this as well.
 
if it's "too much work" then pay your recruiting coordinator a million bucks out of your own pocket to get high profile guys. The "we're just little ol' Iowa" excuse for lack of talent at skill positions doesn't work anymore.
 
I thought recruiting was an exercise in winning over mama and handing out $100 bills

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Just do it
 
KF doesn't like to recruit. He doesn't expect his OC/DC to recruit.
We have the lowest State population = the fewest D-1 recruits, yet our recruiting budget is one of the lowest in the conference. Something in this formula seems askew to me.
Fewest in state D-1 recruits should mean: All hands on deck for recruiting. The highest recruiting budget in the conference. The most time spent recruiting.
Am I wrong?
 
I can't say I know much about recruiting aside from the very basics so I don't know much about which coaches talk to who, what their roles are, and recruiting budgets. I'm from Iowa and lived there for close to the first 23 years of my life, lived 7 years in Arizona, and the past couple of years in Colorado. I love being from Iowa and there are a lot of great things about it. From my experiences I'll tell you this, if I was a recruit from Arizona or Colorado and my choices were Iowa and comparable schools close to my local area, you'd have a hard time convincing me to leave the local area for Iowa. I'm sure that's true for a number of other people that are from the other places in the country with warmer climates as well. Do the people on these boards that currently or have ever resided outside the midwest agree with me on that? Maybe the recruiting budgets and the head/assistant coaches are simply not getting the job done on the recruiting trail, but it's a major uphill battle.
 
About 3 or 4 weeks ago, I believe during the NW game, the announcers talked about a conversation they had with KF regarding Wirfs.

KF told them if Wirfs was from the Chicago area he would have never had a shot at him. He said the only reason he chose Iowa was because his home is close to Iowa City.

Did KF feel this way when he was recruiting guys like Bulaga out of the Chicago area?

Sorry, but my perception is the hard work it takes to land recruits outside of Iowa is starting to wear on KF.

Sadly, he's fooled a lot of fans into believing this as well.

This year sets up nicely for KF. All the states tangential to Iowa have programs that are down, except Wisky, which has already filled its class. He needs to win his next 3 games to maximize his programs appeal. Would be a shame if all the dominoes fell his way and he was unable to take advantage of it. Of course the previous sentence works just as well if you replace the words "a shame" with the word "typical".
 
This year sets up nicely for KF. All the states tangential to Iowa have programs that are down, except Wisky, which has already filled its class. He needs to win his next 3 games to maximize his programs appeal. Would be a shame if all the dominoes fell his way and he was unable to take advantage of it. Of course the previous sentence works just as well if you replace the words "a shame" with the word "typical".

A.......NW, Notre Dame and Michigan State are having pretty good years.

Iowa recruited the Chicago area best in the KF era when NW, Notre Dame, Michigan and Mich State were all bad. Iowa mopped up in Chicago. ND and the two Michigan's in particular have an effect on Iowa's recruiting of the Chicago area.
 
I do think the MW can only support so many teams at a higher level.

I am pretty sure Iowa's recruiting budget is adequate. The revenue for the Big is pretty high. I don't think the issue is a matter of the Aaron Rodgers syndrome where you pay one guy so much that there is little room for other stars which means KF's salary isn't so large to prevent recruiting.

I doubt it's laziness. KF is in pretty good shape and you don't get that way by being lazy.

I do think it's a mindset. A lot of "We Can't" attitude. A lot of "We are Boring because that's what we do" attitude.
"We're not sexy". How many really good receivers and QBs are going to come? How many Rbs want to bash their heads into a wall repeatedly?

Kinnick is a great venue. IC will draw some players looking for a change or parents wanting to keep their kids out of trouble. Iowa has not been a cellar dweller.

There are only 14 teams that can claim Big Status. Half of them have to overcome "cellar dweller" images. Iowa doesn't...yet. MSU will never have Iowa's image in football. Their city will never be Iowa City.

It's in the attitude. KF isn't likely to change. He's not the life of the party. He's a bit of an introvert. He spent his first 10 years with his foot holding the door open, but not stepping outside. He's pretty average and that's what we get. Iowa as a state is pretty average. Maybe it's a good fit.

It does make me wonder if on this forum is more of the detractors of KF are also no longer living in Iowa???
 
Iowa wins more than they lose and are competitive in most games. They are not an "easy out" or a "sure win" on anybody's schedule who plays Iowa, so there is that. Iowa is a reputable program. Many other programs wish they could say that.
 
Iowa wins more than they lose and are competitive in most games. They are not an "easy out" or a "sure win" on anybody's schedule who plays Iowa, so there is that. Iowa is a reputable program. Many other programs wish they could say that.

I thought you were arguing Iowa should expect a crappy class for some kool-aid reason?
 
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You know that for a fact?

You know that KF does not expect coordinators to recruit?

Sounds like a vulnerable statement to me.
It’s a lie. Know for fact Kirk and Greg Davis were in Menominee Wisconsin recruiting Stanley and the other kid they “lost” to Wisconsin.

So, yeah, it’s vulnerable. And it’s stupid.
 

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