Recruiting this year: D-Line

[sdcyfan]

For the most part I've been very pleased with our recruiting this year. Looks like alot of good athletes, especially the LB's. That being said, I don't understand our recruiting with the D-Line. Looking at our team, this would be our weakest link. I really hope we can finish the recruiting season strong and get some big boys up here on the D-Line.

Another way to look at this is that ISU in my mind is one of the upcoming teams in the north along with KSU. CU and KU seem to be going down a bit and NU and MU are still at the top. Looking at KSU's commit list, they've got some impressive JUCO's coming in next year on the defensive line and really think its important for us to stay right with them if not pass them as well.

Just wondering everyone's thoughts on this. Is it just that we've missed on some guys this year or are we high in numbers of scholarships at those positions and coach isn't going to add more? Are the coaches satisfied with who we have on the roster and see alot of potential there? To me our dlineman that we have on the roster are undersized and not as athletic as they should be at this level. I love the Patrick Neal's of our team and think he has done an outstanding job filling in this year, but I also think we need an upgrade across the board there too. Answers anyone?

 

[clonedude]

For the most part I've been very pleased with our recruiting this year. Looks like alot of good athletes, especially the LB's. That being said, I don't understand our recruiting with the D-Line. Looking at our team, this would be our weakest link. I really hope we can finish the recruiting season strong and get some big boys up here on the D-Line.

Another way to look at this is that ISU in my mind is one of the upcoming teams in the north along with KSU. CU and KU seem to be going down a bit and NU and MU are still at the top. Looking at KSU's commit list, they've got some impressive JUCO's coming in next year on the defensive line and really think its important for us to stay right with them if not pass them as well.

Just wondering everyone's thoughts on this. Is it just that we've missed on some guys this year or are we high in numbers of scholarships at those positions and coach isn't going to add more? Are the coaches satisfied with who we have on the roster and see alot of potential there? To me our dlineman that we have on the roster are undersized and not as athletic as they should be at this level. I love the Patrick Neal's of our team and think he has done an outstanding job filling in this year, but I also think we need an upgrade across the board there too. Answers anyone?

Good post. We HAVE to use nearly all the remaining scholarships on the D-line IMO. Isn't there only about 5 schollies left? The O-line is solid and we've recruited 5 newcomers this year. We've got a couple good receivers and TE's as well in this class. LB spot looks to be a spot we could maybe grab one more? DB's should be good to go as well IMO.

But we desperately need at least 1 JUCO DE plus a couple high school DEs IMO. Then, throw in a couple interior D-linemen as well.... and I'd be pretty happy.

Football games are won on the O-line and D-line folks. O-line looks solid. D-line... not so much.

 

[bigsag]

Coach Rhoads and Coach Burnham have a little bit more experience than I do at evaluating defensive needs. I suspect that if they felt that the defensive line was a problem area, they would be addressing it. (Apparently, one can assume that they decided that linebackers and defensive backs were the two areas that most needed to be overhauled.)

 

[SCNCY]

We still have some younger people in here. I think some of us are forgetting that we will not see these recruits for 2-3 years so they can develop to get bigger and stronger. Yes the Defense line is the weak spot right now but the chances of getting a big enough body on the line to start right now is not very likely.

 

[sdcyfan]

this is my point exactly. its not likely for us to get the d-line recruits that we need next year and ksu's class has some studs in it. Jovantae Boyd, who I think we recruited out of hs, is in there along with some other horses. I really think it is important for us to keep ahead of the game and recruit players for now rather than lose steam and let the ksu's pass us by while we're waiting for players to develop. And let me say that I would be sooooo happy if Walter Woods surprises us, Jake McDonough actually puts on some weight and becomes a Big 12 player, but as of right now Woods was reshirted because he wasn't Big 12 ready, McDonough is 6'5 241 lbs and no where close to being a Big 12 d-lineman and while we're waiting for these guys to come around other teams are passing us by with recruiting for "right now." I hope I'm wrong on this, but I've seen Snyder do this before and its not very fun for the Cyclones.

 

[IceCyIce]

All K State does is gets Jucos. Based on our lack of pressure on the QB with our front 4 or 5 I say we need more and stronger D-Line

 

[Bipolarcy]

Good post. We HAVE to use nearly all the remaining scholarships on the D-line IMO. Isn't there only about 5 schollies left? The O-line is solid and we've recruited 5 newcomers this year. We've got a couple good receivers and TE's as well in this class. LB spot looks to be a spot we could maybe grab one more? DB's should be good to go as well IMO.

But we desperately need at least 1 JUCO DE plus a couple high school DEs IMO. Then, throw in a couple interior D-linemen as well.... and I'd be pretty happy.

Football games are won on the O-line and D-line folks. O-line looks solid. D-line... not so much.

I disagree on your assessment of DBs being good to go. We need CBs badly. There's only one in this class and he may be more of a free safety type eventually. I'd like to see us grab a couple of CBs.

Next year, all we'll have back there is Johnson, Benton, Reeves and Washington, if he stays at CB. McCullough comes in as a CB, but, like I say, I think he's eventually a free safety. Givens is a safety, and there are 2 or 3 others in the class who could play one of the safety spots, so I think we're set at safety, but it's CBs I'm worried about.

In fact, you could say we only have two true corners next year in Johnson and Reeves. Benton has been playing the hybrid LB/safety position and Washington is growing out (getting too big for) of the CB spot.

And the coaching staff has said they are happy with the interior linemen in the program. I doubt we see any more DT types in this class. I'd like to grab one juco and two HS DEs, however.

We also need a RB. As it happens, there are six scholarships left, so if we got three DEs, 2 CBs and a Rb, that would eat them up. We'rre also looking at Creekmur as a QB, but he may be a grayshirt candidate at this point.

 

[demoncore1031]

we got alot of "extra" guys who could move to the d-line. the o-lineman we signed the other day (jon caspers?) was a DT in high school, so he could switch. vince ewald and kurt hammerschmidt could both move from TE to DE. hammerschmidt definately has the name to be a d-lineman, he's a good athlete as well. i saw a couple o-lineman who are really undersized to stay on the o-line so they may switch over. some of the o-lineman reserves have played defense in the past. i was studying our roster, and i dont think we will be horrible but still wont be that great haha. look for patrick neal to be a breakout player next year at DE. seriously, i think he will dominate! this is his first year ever playing DE and he has been better than anyone else besides chris lyle.

 

[Sterling4Cy]

Good post. We HAVE to use nearly all the remaining scholarships on the D-line IMO. Isn't there only about 5 schollies left? The O-line is solid and we've recruited 5 newcomers this year. We've got a couple good receivers and TE's as well in this class. LB spot looks to be a spot we could maybe grab one more? DB's should be good to go as well IMO.

But we desperately need at least 1 JUCO DE plus a couple high school DEs IMO. Then, throw in a couple interior D-linemen as well.... and I'd be pretty happy.

Football games are won on the O-line and D-line folks. O-line looks solid. D-line... not so much.

Couldn't agree any more! The game is won in the trenches. We need to start getting some sort of consistent pass rush on the QB.

 

[bmuff]

If there are six spots left, I think that they go JUCO heavy. Still gotta find the RB for this class too.

1 HS RB
1 HS DE
1 HS CB
1 JC DE
1 JC DT
1 JC LB

 

[CIRISH]

we got alot of "extra" guys who could move to the d-line. the o-lineman we signed the other day (jon caspers?) was a DT in high school, so he could switch. vince ewald and kurt hammerschmidt could both move from TE to DE. hammerschmidt definately has the name to be a d-lineman, he's a good athlete as well. i saw a couple o-lineman who are really undersized to stay on the o-line so they may switch over. some of the o-lineman reserves have played defense in the past. i was studying our roster, and i dont think we will be horrible but still wont be that great haha. look for patrick neal to be a breakout player next year at DE. seriously, i think he will dominate! this is his first year ever playing DE and he has been better than anyone else besides chris lyle.

Can't say I've studied the roster but you can't just throw big guys in there. I think a good DT is one of the hardest positions to fill effectively. It's one of the most physically demanding positions on the team and requires a combination of strengths. Strong enough to stay put while double teamed, quick enough to cover the gaps. If you can find one who can also exert pressure on the passer it's a huge bonus. Good ones are essential for and the foundation of any good defense because any good defense starts with being strong up the middle. They are at a premium in recruiting because sure-fire good ones are extremely rare.

 

[MaxPower57]

Our D-Line just needs a guy that demands a doubleteam, right now we don't have anyone. Really need that DT that is going to occupy 2 people. Thats a big problem on with why we don't seem to get any pressure when we blitz...all our DL only require one guy blocking them.

We took a chance on a JC OL in Tuba and that worked out all right at NG, but it is the hardest position to recruit. Chris Lyle is a solid player, but he would be putting up even better stats if he wasn't the only threat.

 

[clonedude]

I disagree on your assessment of DBs being good to go. We need CBs badly. There's only one in this class and he may be more of a free safety type eventually. I'd like to see us grab a couple of CBs.

Next year, all we'll have back there is Johnson, Benton, Reeves and Washington, if he stays at CB. McCullough comes in as a CB, but, like I say, I think he's eventually a free safety. Givens is a safety, and there are 2 or 3 others in the class who could play one of the safety spots, so I think we're set at safety, but it's CBs I'm worried about.

In fact, you could say we only have two true corners next year in Johnson and Reeves. Benton has been playing the hybrid LB/safety position and Washington is growing out (getting too big for) of the CB spot.

And the coaching staff has said they are happy with the interior linemen in the program. I doubt we see any more DT types in this class. I'd like to grab one juco and two HS DEs, however.

We also need a RB. As it happens, there are six scholarships left, so if we got three DEs, 2 CBs and a Rb, that would eat them up. We'rre also looking at Creekmur as a QB, but he may be a grayshirt candidate at this point.

I think you've nailed it. You are right about the CB position. I didn't realize we were already getting thin there.

I do agree that our interior D-line is probably a lot deeper at this point than the CB position after looking at it more closely. I truly think the Rump is going to be VERY good for us if he dedicates himself. He physically looks like a Big 12 caliber player, but could stand to gain some lbs of muscle this offseason. I think Bailey Johnson has played well recently too.

I'm most concerned with DE though. I'm not as sold as some on here about Neal's promise. He has a long way to go physically IMO. Parker is ok, but he doesn't generate the pressure we need on the QB either. I was really hoping that Maggitt would show a bit more this year, but I still think he'll be productive. I thought Hammerschmidt was going to be a DE from day one, but they have kept him at TE still. Does anyone know what the plans are for Bykowski? Could he be a DE? And is Ricky Howard going to be a DE for sure, or not? I'd still like to see us get one JUCO DE, and 2 HS DE's.

2 CB's sounds about right too. After that... I don't know where to go with the last scholly. QB? RB? LB? DT? At QB next year we will have Arnaud, Tiller, Capello, Bueker, and Barnett. With 5 QB's I don't think we really need Creekmur, unless he agrees to a greyshirt or walk on?

At RB we have ARob, Schwartz, Bo, Beau, and James White (is that his name?). Probably wouldn't hurt to get one more in this class, but not a necessity either. Kinda wish Beau would have redshirted this year.

I just don't think you can have too many players on the defensive side of the ball, so I still think I'd go in that direction with the last scholly. But I trust Rhoads and company know a heck of a lot more than I do..... that's for sure!

 

[Kyle]

I don't foresee us getting any D-Line recruits that will be good enough to displace our current players next year. D-Line prospects are kind of like basketball centers. They usually take a few years to develop. I think we just need to keep a steady stream of d-linemen coming into the program so we always have people in the pipeline ready to step up their junior and senior years.

 

[ajk4st8]

I was really hoping this staff would load up heavy again at WR.

 

[clonedude]

I don't foresee us getting any D-Line recruits that will be good enough to displace our current players next year. D-Line prospects are kind of like basketball centers. They usually take a few years to develop. I think we just need to keep a steady stream of d-linemen coming into the program so we always have people in the pipeline ready to step up their junior and senior years.

I agree. Unless you are about 99% certain that a JUCO will actually make it to campus, then maybe you just go with what you have right now and take some high school DE's to build for the future?

I had a gut feeling from day one that Taylor Martin would never be a Cyclone, and it didn't bother me either because he didn't look that good on tape IMO. I can't see taking a JUCO DE if he's doubtful to even make it here, or if he's not a real stud player. Don't waste a scholly on a JUCO DE if he's not going to be any better than what we currently have.

 

[CyForPresident]

Rony Nelson.

I hope we can get that kid because he is leading the Juco California leagues in sacks with like 16 or some ridiculous number like that.

 

[ajk4st8]

We just need to find ONE or two Chris Lyle type players


Although easier said than done.

 

[04clone]

I'd be surprised if we take more than one DE this year. The pass rush has been bad, but it's not realistic to have a roster full of DE just to try to fix it...5-6 scholarship DEs is all we can really afford. We have several younger guys coming up that need to fill the void (Neal, Maggitt, Laing, Aaron Moore). That is in addition to Parker coming back and Ricky Howard coming in. The only way I could see us taking more than one is if we have a really talented high schooler that wants to come (i.e. Douglas, Jackson) and we've already got a JC DE committed.

As far as the last 6 scholarships, I think it breaks down like this:
1 DE
1 RB
2 CB
1 DT
1 JC LB or best available

 

[clonedude]

I'd be surprised if we take more than one DE this year. The pass rush has been bad, but it's not realistic to have a roster full of DE just to try to fix it...5-6 scholarship DEs is all we can really afford. We have several younger guys coming up that need to fill the void (Neal, Maggitt, Laing, Aaron Moore). That is in addition to Parker coming back and Ricky Howard coming in. The only way I could see us taking more than one is if we have a really talented high schooler that wants to come (i.e. Douglas, Jackson) and we've already got a JC DE committed.

As far as the last 6 scholarships, I think it breaks down like this:
1 DE
1 RB
2 CB
1 DT
1 JC LB or best available

If we can get 2 or 3 really good DE's, then we have to take them. We MUST get more pressure on the QB to be a good team. I agree, we can't just take some DE's that nobody else really offers just to have some warm bodies on the roster... that doesn't make sense. They have to be good.