RECRUITING STORIES: Ajibola Afuye & Brysen Wessell

[jcordova8]

Our guy Jackson Pence together some recruiting news for you all.

Check them out! Enjoy!

RECRUITING: Cyclones earn second DL commitment after visit weekend in Brysen Wessell

AMES - Iowa State secured its second commitment from its second official visit weekend with the addition of Brysen Wessell, a defensive lineman out of Jackson, Missouri. The 3-star prospect announced his pledge to the Cyclones on Sunday afternoon via social media. 1000% committed #Committed @IS

cyclonefanatic.com

https://cyclonefanatic.com/2025/06/recruiting-cyclones-earn-commitment-from-de-ajibola-afuye/

 

[CyValley2]

Whar Owen Winder?

 

[LarryISU]

Well by now we all know how CMC intends to handle building his team every year. I think for ISU this is the right choice and perhaps for now our only real choice. Recruit the best high school talent you can get with guys you can develop into the best versions of themselves. Once the season is over, you will have a good idea where your upcoming team has some needs and so you grab 7 to 10 portal guys to reinforce any possible weaknesses.

On the other end of the spectrum are the teams like Texas Tech that are just going to buy the best team they can get with as much money as it takes. It surprises me that so far under this new way of doing business with no real rules in place, Iowa State is faring as well as they ever have. I doubt that many of us would have expected that. I think, however, that our success is attributed to our coaches adapting to the new ways, and wise use of what financial benefits we do have. Because to me, in theory, we would be going backwards right now. We certainly have no other reason to be competing with any B1G or SEC teams, or even a team like Miami.

 

[CYCLNST8]

Well by now we all know how CMC intends to handle building his team every year. I think for ISU this is the right choice and perhaps for now our only real choice. Recruit the best high school talent you can get with guys you can develop into the best versions of themselves. Once the season is over, you will have a good idea where your upcoming team has some needs and so you grab 7 to 10 portal guys to reinforce any possible weaknesses.

On the other end of the spectrum are the teams like Texas Tech that are just going to buy the best team they can get with as much money as it takes. It surprises me that so far under this new way of doing business with no real rules in place, Iowa State is faring as well as they ever have. I doubt that many of us would have expected that. I think, however, that our success is attributed to our coaches adapting to the new ways, and wise use of what financial benefits we do have. Because to me, in theory, we would be going backwards right now. We certainly have no other reason to be competing with any B1G or SEC teams, or even a team like Miami.

Partly out of necessity; partly because it's simply Matt Campbell's preferred style. My guess is that we tell recruits up front: Iowa State isn't pay-for-play. We're play-for-pay. Come prove yourself on the field and we'll try to compensate you as fairly as possible. A full ride scholarship is still a serious investment from Iowa State's perspective. Matt Campbell wants to build men whether it's mentoring Darien Porter for 6 years all the way to the NFL draft, giving a juco or transfer a second chance, or Jalen Travis having one year to shine at a higher level.

Managing a motley crew of blue chip mercenaries can be successful, but I'm not convinced it's sustainable culture-wise from season to season. That's not to say Iowa State is above utilizing the transfer portal (because clearly we're not), but we certainly can't rely on it. I'm sure there is a thorough vetting process to be sure all egos are checked at the door.

 

[clonefanpaul]

Well by now we all know how CMC intends to handle building his team every year. I think for ISU this is the right choice and perhaps for now our only real choice. Recruit the best high school talent you can get with guys you can develop into the best versions of themselves. Once the season is over, you will have a good idea where your upcoming team has some needs and so you grab 7 to 10 portal guys to reinforce any possible weaknesses.

On the other end of the spectrum are the teams like Texas Tech that are just going to buy the best team they can get with as much money as it takes. It surprises me that so far under this new way of doing business with no real rules in place, Iowa State is faring as well as they ever have. I doubt that many of us would have expected that. I think, however, that our success is attributed to our coaches adapting to the new ways, and wise use of what financial benefits we do have. Because to me, in theory, we would be going backwards right now. We certainly have no other reason to be competing with any B1G or SEC teams, or even a team like Miami.

Critical to this is the coaching staff and the environment they create for the players. They make the players WANT to stay, so we don't bleed as much starting level talent as other teams do each year. You could have the best Xs and Os coach in the country at ISU and they would fail miserably if they didn't have the leadership skills of this current staff.

On a related tangent, I really wish recruiting sites would rank transfer classes, not just on incoming players, but also player retention weighted by snaps and performance rating. Doing so would really highlight teams like Iowa State, due to the strong retention.