Our talent is at RB position right now, there is no doubt. However, there is no way we move away from a spread style offense. Rhoads and his staff have been recruiting O Linemen suited for a spread attack for the last three years. We are just now getting to see some of those guys and Chiziks' plows are moving on.
You need talented RBs in the spread offense as well, Iowa State just needs some difference makers at the WR position to take the next step. Albert Gary is a perfect example of the kind of WR we want in this offense.
I think this is a setback, but not a huge setback, we have young guys on offense and while next year will be a transition, it wont be a huge one. And in all honesty, this is a move Rhoads wanted to make.
Herman is a good guy, no discredit to anything he did here, but he wasn't always a player favorite either. Good luck to him and Ohio State, He landed well and will have some tremendous talent to work with.
As for those thinking of Steele, this probably isn't good for him. He had a short time period to learn Hermans offense, and now he will be scrapping that. At the same rate, So will Barnett, it may level the field for spring, but with only a year left it doesn't fare well. I like Steele, I really do.. I think he has much more potential than we will ever get to see, Barnett has shown a lot of promise, but I'm not sure he is our solution, The OK State game being the exception, Barnett has been mediocre and has put a lot of pressure on Wally's boys. He is just a freshmen though and I really hope to see him continue to progress and not hit the Jr. Year slump that is typical of ISU QBs.