Still doing wait & see on recruits

[IndyIUFan66]

First, be clear, I'm a big Wilson fan and think barring Sudfeld injury, it's bowl time this year. Love Knorr and defense coming along. Think O-Line will be great this year and WR play much improved.

Also think of this year's FR class, only 5-6 will need or be asked to play b/c of so much depth now on the team for first time in a long time. And recruits last 2 yrs have been more athletic, hard workers, and good kids (minus a few slip ups, most notably A Allen sadly.)

Of current commits, know we can't get caught up in stars, but seemingly other schools recruiting is a legit benchmark. Of early birds, don't feel like seeing any yet who were being courted by other top tier schools.

I trust the coaches and as long as I see size and athleticism, sure the coaches see talent that can be developed. And if not having to play as many FR any more, that's another luxury of being able to let them develop.

But maybe IU should put emphasis on signings more during & after season, b/c I believe as IU starts winning - visualize a 4-0 start going into home Ohio St game - that the momentum will start flipping or leading on the fence recruits to pull the trigger before they lose their spot.

I know they are scouring the south, Midwest and are not going after scrubs. But let's admit, if of the 7 signees thus far, we had even 1 or 2 4-Star signees, we'd all be thrilled. We've been getting spoiled with primarily 3-Star signees of last few years, so seeing more 2-Stars now just caused a little pause, but it is early still and I do trust the coaches are showing a good eye for talent. I'll keep watching and hoping for good news on future signings.

 

[RBB89]

First, be clear, I'm a big Wilson fan and think barring Sudfeld injury, it's bowl time this year. Love Knorr and defense coming along. Think O-Line will be great this year and WR play much improved.

Also think of this year's FR class, only 5-6 will need or be asked to play b/c of so much depth now on the team for first time in a long time. And recruits last 2 yrs have been more athletic, hard workers, and good kids (minus a few slip ups, most notably A Allen sadly.)

Of current commits, know we can't get caught up in stars, but seemingly other schools recruiting is a legit benchmark. Of early birds, don't feel like seeing any yet who were being courted by other top tier schools.

I trust the coaches and as long as I see size and athleticism, sure the coaches see talent that can be developed. And if not having to play as many FR any more, that's another luxury of being able to let them develop.

But maybe IU should put emphasis on signings more during & after season, b/c I believe as IU starts winning - visualize a 4-0 start going into home Ohio St game - that the momentum will start flipping or leading on the fence recruits to pull the trigger before they lose their spot.

I know they are scouring the south, Midwest and are not going after scrubs. But let's admit, if of the 7 signees thus far, we had even 1 or 2 4-Star signees, we'd all be thrilled. We've been getting spoiled with primarily 3-Star signees of last few years, so seeing more 2-Stars now just caused a little pause, but it is early still and I do trust the coaches are showing a good eye for talent. I'll keep watching and hoping for good news on future signings.

We usually do get more commits during and after the season, and that's typically when we get our higher ranked commits. Seems to be going pretty normally so far.

 

[Big Red Crimson Buffalo]

Everyone must keep in mind that unless you are a highly visible name on the camp circuit, most schools are laying off guys until they see more senior tape. Kids that are can't miss have several D1 offers. That's not the vast majority of kids.
Does anybody remember reading the Rivals site during the Dinardo or Hep years? We were getting beat out by most of the MAC. On paper, this is light years from those days.

 

[toastedbread]

Everyone must keep in mind that unless you are a highly visible name on the camp circuit, most schools are laying off guys until they see more senior tape. Kids that are can't miss have several D1 offers. That's not the vast majority of kids.
Does anybody remember reading the Rivals site during the Dinardo or Hep years? We were getting beat out by most of the MAC. On paper, this is light years from those days.

Let me know when we beat out Bama or OSU for a recruit. UCF and directional U's aren't where I want to be.

 

[82hoosier]

I am going to be a bit of a curmudgeon here. Every year the team says they are bigger, stronger and more athletic. Every year the defense is coming along. Every year this will be the year that we turn the corner. I certainly believed it last year after the Missouri game. And then the shoulder injury and the wheels fell off. And while the defense can only get better, the offense in one injury away from another car crash. If Sudfield can stay healthy and the defense improves substantially, Coach Wilson will look like a hero. If Sudfield gets hurt - well, I don't even want to think about it.

 

[IndyCusp]

Let me know when we beat out Bama or OSU for a recruit. UCF and directional U's aren't where I want to be.

Green had an offer from OSU
Booth had an offer from Alabama
Fant had an offer from FSU
Scales had an offer from Oklahoma
Baker has an offer from Florida

It's June. We can talk about who had what offers in February.

 

[IndyCusp]

First, be clear, I'm a big Wilson fan and think barring Sudfeld injury, it's bowl time this year. Love Knorr and defense coming along. Think O-Line will be great this year and WR play much improved.

Also think of this year's FR class, only 5-6 will need or be asked to play b/c of so much depth now on the team for first time in a long time. And recruits last 2 yrs have been more athletic, hard workers, and good kids (minus a few slip ups, most notably A Allen sadly.)

Of current commits, know we can't get caught up in stars, but seemingly other schools recruiting is a legit benchmark. Of early birds, don't feel like seeing any yet who were being courted by other top tier schools.

I trust the coaches and as long as I see size and athleticism, sure the coaches see talent that can be developed. And if not having to play as many FR any more, that's another luxury of being able to let them develop.

But maybe IU should put emphasis on signings more during & after season, b/c I believe as IU starts winning - visualize a 4-0 start going into home Ohio St game - that the momentum will start flipping or leading on the fence recruits to pull the trigger before they lose their spot.

I know they are scouring the south, Midwest and are not going after scrubs. But let's admit, if of the 7 signees thus far, we had even 1 or 2 4-Star signees, we'd all be thrilled. We've been getting spoiled with primarily 3-Star signees of last few years, so seeing more 2-Stars now just caused a little pause, but it is early still and I do trust the coaches are showing a good eye for talent. I'll keep watching and hoping for good news on future signings.

There is not a whole lot of difference between a 5.4 and 5.5 recruit, just another star is handed out. There were several guys last year who got a bump up in rankings as the season went on. At least 2 of the commits will go up in ratings.

 

[Big Red Crimson Buffalo]

Let me know when we beat out Bama or OSU for a recruit. UCF and directional U's aren't where I want to be.

Did you look at some of the recruits? There were guys there that had offers from other Big Ten schools. And, we landed a kid in the last class that had verballed to OSU and at least one we flipped from Maryland. Darius Latham had switches from Wisconsin.
Again, our recruiting is light years ahead what it was

 

[Pelkowski]

I am going to be a bit of a curmudgeon here. Every year the team says they are bigger, stronger and more athletic. Every year the defense is coming along. Every year this will be the year that we turn the corner. I certainly believed it last year after the Missouri game. And then the shoulder injury and the wheels fell off. And while the defense can only get better, the offense in one injury away from another car crash. If Sudfield can stay healthy and the defense improves substantially, Coach Wilson will look like a hero. If Sudfield gets hurt - well, I don't even want to think about it.

Agree 100% with your assessment. We are so much better than 5 years ago. We are due for some good fortune.

 

[RBB89]

Let me know when we beat out Bama or OSU for a recruit. UCF and directional U's aren't where I want to be.

We have, but I'm not going to list all those recruits if you're too lazy to bother to look.

 

[RBB89]

Green had an offer from OSU
Booth had an offer from Alabama
Fant had an offer from FSU
Scales had an offer from Oklahoma
Baker has an offer from Florida

It's June. We can talk about who had what offers in February.

Booth also switched from Tennessee to us. But I'm sure that somehow doesn't count. Toasted is not impressed.

 

[iueyedoc99]

Booth also switched from Tennessee to us. But I'm sure that somehow doesn't count. Toasted is not impressed.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that Toasted was referring to this year. Yes we have had some relative success, particularly in 2013, but this is going to be a lot tougher year to recruit. That's just the way it is. My hope is also that we win big this fall and flip some guys.

 

[Townsend]

Bill Lynch has certainly taken a ton of abuse on these boards over the last few years. I'm not sure why. He did as well as most IU coaches have done. Under very difficult circumstances, he was a Demarlo Belcher drop from taking us to two bowl games. Was he really that much of a stumblebum?

He said himself that he had it made at DePauw. Hep had to beg and plead with him for three months before Lynch relented to become his assistant. He came on board and represented IU with the highest degree of professionalism, imo. He was a respected coach in the Big Ten. Lynch should not be mentioned in the same breath as DiNardo. Gerry, for the most part, was a has-been blowhard who couldn't get along with anybody at Indiana.

 

[billy.g]

First, be clear, I'm a big Wilson fan and think barring Sudfeld injury, it's bowl time this year. Love Knorr and defense coming along. Think O-Line will be great this year and WR play much improved.

Also think of this year's FR class, only 5-6 will need or be asked to play b/c of so much depth now on the team for first time in a long time. And recruits last 2 yrs have been more athletic, hard workers, and good kids (minus a few slip ups, most notably A Allen sadly.)

Of current commits, know we can't get caught up in stars, but seemingly other schools recruiting is a legit benchmark. Of early birds, don't feel like seeing any yet who were being courted by other top tier schools.

I trust the coaches and as long as I see size and athleticism, sure the coaches see talent that can be developed. And if not having to play as many FR any more, that's another luxury of being able to let them develop.

But maybe IU should put emphasis on signings more during & after season, b/c I believe as IU starts winning - visualize a 4-0 start going into home Ohio St game - that the momentum will start flipping or leading on the fence recruits to pull the trigger before they lose their spot.

I know they are scouring the south, Midwest and are not going after scrubs. But let's admit, if of the 7 signees thus far, we had even 1 or 2 4-Star signees, we'd all be thrilled. We've been getting spoiled with primarily 3-Star signees of last few years, so seeing more 2-Stars now just caused a little pause, but it is early still and I do trust the coaches are showing a good eye for talent. I'll keep watching and hoping for good news on future signings.

I'm not all that familiar with the rating systems but it seems to me that a three star from Fla GA or Ala is as good as a four star from Ind. The raters have to spread out their ratings to get coverage from all states in order to sell their product. They can't load up their ratings with all players from one state.Personally , I think this coaching staff is doing a GREAT job recruiting and fully expect to see the results on the field this year.

 

[4IUSox2]

Townsend, that was very well stated on Bill Lynch. While his recruiting wasn't great, he seemed to be able to coach them up. The '09 and '10 teams seemed to hang in many games I didn't think they would.

Strategy-wise, I did have some issues (see both games at Northwestern in '07 and '09 off the top of my head).

The Belcher drop you mentioned was the final (of many) kick in the rocks to all of us

 

[TheSpa]

Townsend, that was very well stated on Bill Lynch. While his recruiting wasn't great, he seemed to be able to coach them up. The '09 and '10 teams seemed to hang in many games I didn't think they would.

Strategy-wise, I did have some issues (see both games at Northwestern in '07 and '09 off the top of my head).

The Belcher drop you mentioned was the final (of many) kick in the rocks to all of us

Seems obvious that in state recruiting is not going well. For the football gurus here, is this due to Wilson's problems leading the program, his rumored place on the "hot seat", some kind of a problem with coaches, a general perception in Indiana that IU football isn't good enough for the top kids, or some other reason? Or maybe is it a case of IU not caring much about getting Indiana kids?

 

[82hoosier]

My recollection of the Lynch years were games being competitive in the first half. And then half time. The other team (fill in any name) would make adjustments and then they were off to the races. That is all about coaching.

 

[Pelkowski]

How soon we forget those awful Lynch years. Agree 100% on his high character and high ethics. Great guy by all accounts.

But his coaching and team performance was about as bad as it gets (not counting the 2007 Hep - bowl year). He followed up that bowl year (1st Full year that the team was his) with a last place finish in the BIG. If I recall, we got pounded by a few MAC teams that year and Purdue killed us in the bucket game. That was when the hopeful progress made under Hep was squandered.

I believe he only won 3 total BIG games post the bowl year. We were not respected by anybody and our recruiting and attendance were really bad during his tenure. I am still fuming (not really) at the 82 points that Wisconsin scored on us that last year of his - on ESPN! Incredibly embarrassing.

Now some would argue that he did the best he could given IUs history and lack of FB commitment. Maybe. But the bottom line, based on his record, is that he was not a BIG level coach.

 

[DenverDog]

Seems obvious that in state recruiting is not going well. For the football gurus here, is this due to Wilson's problems leading the program, his rumored place on the "hot seat", some kind of a problem with coaches, a general perception in Indiana that IU football isn't good enough for the top kids, or some other reason? Or maybe is it a case of IU not caring much about getting Indiana kids?

I suspect there is some pretty strong negative recruiting going on with other coaches who are quick to note IU's perennial struggles on defense and the fact one man going down last year blew up the entire season (as evidence the "team on the rise" hype was overblown and quality depth is a problem). I don't think CKW's leadership is an issue as much as his record. He's exceeded expectations in every area except winning and his 2-11 record in games decided by six points or less has got to turnaround. A bowl game will remedy a lot of what ails the program.

 

[IUHDog]

It's still Tre's fault.....

 

[ORG]

Let me know when we beat out Bama or OSU for a recruit. UCF and directional U's aren't where I want to be.

Little recruiting victories lead to BIG recruiting victories . . . If IU keeps getting small recruiting wins, it will improve enough to get into bowl games and that will lead to even bigger recruiting wins.