For the last couple of decades, I've felt that the biggest program weaknesses were the offense and recruiting.
The offense, if not in a complete turnaround, appears at least, to be on the road to recovery.
Recruiting; not so much. We have been recruiting at an 8-4 level for years and continue to do so.
Many talk about NIL being the problem and I'm sure that's a factor in some cases. But I don't see where
that has significantly impacted our results relative to other teams.
It appears that the staff works hard on recruiting. IMO the problem is not effort, but rather methodology.
We are identifying a solid group of prospects, nurturing them along with visits and communication, and securing
a commitment from some of them. The problem is that too often, those commitment are coming from our
4th or fifth choice at their position. To go from a 8-4 team to a 10-2 team we need more difference makers
(4 and 5 stars).
I reviewed the 2027 lists of offers, visits, and commitments, with special attention to players from other states
who chose to leave their home state. To me, that means we were probably outrecruited for those players.
Missouri, NE, IL, even MSU, and others are notable. My guess is that each of those schools has a "closing
recruiter" better than anyone on our staff.
What is a "closing recruiter"? Many would say it's some high pressure guy. No. Bernie Wyatt was the best out-
of-state recruiter we've had in the last 50 years and pressure was never associated with his results. "Ace" recruiters
like Bernie can be improved but not developed. It requires a set of innate characteristics that very few football coaches
process.
An improved methodology starts with the acquisition of an Ace recruiter as one of the position coaches. He would be the
most important guy on the staff behind only the coordinators. Those guys are few and far between but they are out there
and with KF's connections, he could find one if he were so inclined.
The next step is, each year, to develop a list of maybe 25 high level, out -of -state recruits who have no strong allegiance to their
home state school or any other school. That list becomes the Ace's assignment and he is expected to get commitments
from maybe 5 or 6 of them.
How does he do that? Each situation is different and the Ace has the ability to recognize the keys in each situation and react optimally.
Some of the kids rely heavily on their coach so the coach has to be convinced that Iowa is the kid's best option. Or maybe it's one or both parents.
He has to go past the kid's expressed hot issues and go much deeper, probably reaching areas of which even the kid is unaware ( Iowa City as a location,
course of study, style of play, friends at Iowa, BIG10 exposure, hunting and fishing opportunities,...... The possibilities are almost endless .but the Ace finds them.
Meanwhile, the staff continues what they are doing now. But at the end, adding 5-6 top recruits to their efforts, makes all the difference.
The offense, if not in a complete turnaround, appears at least, to be on the road to recovery.
Recruiting; not so much. We have been recruiting at an 8-4 level for years and continue to do so.
Many talk about NIL being the problem and I'm sure that's a factor in some cases. But I don't see where
that has significantly impacted our results relative to other teams.
It appears that the staff works hard on recruiting. IMO the problem is not effort, but rather methodology.
We are identifying a solid group of prospects, nurturing them along with visits and communication, and securing
a commitment from some of them. The problem is that too often, those commitment are coming from our
4th or fifth choice at their position. To go from a 8-4 team to a 10-2 team we need more difference makers
(4 and 5 stars).
I reviewed the 2027 lists of offers, visits, and commitments, with special attention to players from other states
who chose to leave their home state. To me, that means we were probably outrecruited for those players.
Missouri, NE, IL, even MSU, and others are notable. My guess is that each of those schools has a "closing
recruiter" better than anyone on our staff.
What is a "closing recruiter"? Many would say it's some high pressure guy. No. Bernie Wyatt was the best out-
of-state recruiter we've had in the last 50 years and pressure was never associated with his results. "Ace" recruiters
like Bernie can be improved but not developed. It requires a set of innate characteristics that very few football coaches
process.
An improved methodology starts with the acquisition of an Ace recruiter as one of the position coaches. He would be the
most important guy on the staff behind only the coordinators. Those guys are few and far between but they are out there
and with KF's connections, he could find one if he were so inclined.
The next step is, each year, to develop a list of maybe 25 high level, out -of -state recruits who have no strong allegiance to their
home state school or any other school. That list becomes the Ace's assignment and he is expected to get commitments
from maybe 5 or 6 of them.
How does he do that? Each situation is different and the Ace has the ability to recognize the keys in each situation and react optimally.
Some of the kids rely heavily on their coach so the coach has to be convinced that Iowa is the kid's best option. Or maybe it's one or both parents.
He has to go past the kid's expressed hot issues and go much deeper, probably reaching areas of which even the kid is unaware ( Iowa City as a location,
course of study, style of play, friends at Iowa, BIG10 exposure, hunting and fishing opportunities,...... The possibilities are almost endless .but the Ace finds them.
Meanwhile, the staff continues what they are doing now. But at the end, adding 5-6 top recruits to their efforts, makes all the difference.
