Football Recruiting - Midlands Region: Iowa State Cyclones
Brenham (Texas) High School doesn't conduct a traditional spring football practice, but like many of their fellow Lone Star State schools, the Cubs still make sure to get plenty of offseason work in.
That has helped players such as 2014 offensive tackle Austin Schlottmann, who has seen several college coaches walk through the doors of Brenham since the evaluation period began last month.
That has helped players such as 2014 offensive tackle Austin Schlottmann, who has seen several college coaches walk through the doors of Brenham since the evaluation period began last month.
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After seeing Iowa State the first time, Hartland (Wis.) Arrowhead outside linebacker Sam Seonbuchner knew he wanted to make a return trip.
When he did, he decided he had seen enough.
Seonbuchner committed to the Cyclones on Saturday while on his second visit to the campus this spring, giving Iowa State its fourth commitment of the 2014 class.
"I visited back in March for spring practice and visited the school and came away very impressed with everything," Seonbuchner said. "I wanted to go back, which [I did] today. I was even more impressed [with] the facilities, the coaches, academics, everything they have to offer. I knew I was ready to make a decision, and I committed."
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound prospect also held offers from Ball State, Bowling Green, North Dakota State and Ohio. He also held interest from Minnesota, Northern Illinois, Penn State and Wisconsin. Seonbuchner was recruited by Iowa State defensive graduate assistant Derek Day.
When he did, he decided he had seen enough.
Seonbuchner committed to the Cyclones on Saturday while on his second visit to the campus this spring, giving Iowa State its fourth commitment of the 2014 class.
"I visited back in March for spring practice and visited the school and came away very impressed with everything," Seonbuchner said. "I wanted to go back, which [I did] today. I was even more impressed [with] the facilities, the coaches, academics, everything they have to offer. I knew I was ready to make a decision, and I committed."
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound prospect also held offers from Ball State, Bowling Green, North Dakota State and Ohio. He also held interest from Minnesota, Northern Illinois, Penn State and Wisconsin. Seonbuchner was recruited by Iowa State defensive graduate assistant Derek Day.
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Inspired by Florida's "#ComePlayWRFortheJoker" campaign, our recruiting writers looked at other ways schools can sell themselves on the trail. Here's a look at recruiting pitches for the Big 12:
Baylor Bears
What they’re selling: The new 45,000-seat, $250-million on-campus stadium that will open in 2014. Recruiting is an arms race, and players like fancy stadiums and locker rooms, and Baylor’s upgrade puts them finally on the same level playing field as everybody else in the Big 12.
What they're missing: Help on defense -- specifically at defensive line and defensive back.
Iowa State Cyclones
What they’re selling: Paul Rhoads. He grew up miles from the campus and has helped turn around Iowa State with a physical and fundamentally sound style of football.
What they're missing: A true home-run threat at receiver.
Kansas Jayhawks
What they’re selling: Charlie Weis. He’s taken risks (juco infusion), repaired relationships with area high school coaches and widened KU’s recruiting pool.
What they're missing: Wins. When you’ve won only one conference game in three years, a little bit of everything is missing.
Kansas State Wildcats
What they’re selling: Bill Synder. The plan has worked for years in Manhattan. K-State doesn’t care how many stars a player has attached to his name, a player only earns an offer from K-State unless Snyder personally signs off on it after a lengthy review. It’s a plan that produced a No. 1 BCS ranking and a Big 12 championship in 2012.
What’s missing: I’ve been told by coaches for years that the most difficult position to recruit is defensive tackle. That’s why you often see even average defensive tackles rack up double-digit offers, and finding good depth at defensive tackle has been very difficult to do at K-State.
Oklahoma Sooners
What they’re selling: Oklahoma is proud of its football tradition, and few schools can match the Sooners’ track record for success, facilities and ability to prepare you for the next level.
What they're missing: A renewed focus on evaluating players. It’s what differentiated Bob Stoops’ staff when they started, and it’s how they found players like Sam Bradford, Josh Heupel, Juaquin Iglesias and Donald Stephenson. All at the time were considered to be three-star recruits but wound up being impact players for the Sooners.
Oklahoma State Cowboys
What they’re selling: Their ability to evaluate and develop offensive talent.
What they're missing: Elite players in the Lone Star State. With the best facilities in the conference, it might be just enough to get kids to visit.
Texas Longhorns
What they’re selling: Few in the nation can offer up the type of atmosphere, fan base, tradition and total student-athlete package like Texas can.
What they're missing: A true a difference-maker at quarterback. The last two Heisman Trophy winners have come from Texas high schools, and the Longhorns didn’t recruit one heavily and recruited the other as an athlete.
TCU Horned Frogs
What they’re selling: The Horned Frogs recruit to their style of smash-mouth play on both sides of the ball and don’t care how many stars a recruit has. It hurts them some in the recruiting rankings, but it helps them win a lot of ball games.
What they're missing: BCS conference depth. Heading into their second season in the Big 12 after a 7-6 season, the biggest thing the Horned Frogs need to do is to build the roster to be able to compete year in and year out in the BCS conference.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
What they’re selling: The Red Raiders went through a transition that brought Kliff Kingsbury to Lubbock, and the early reception has been nothing short of positive.
What they're missing: The Red Raiders have never had issues putting up points on people, but under Tommy Tuberville and Mike Leach there was little defense being played.
West Virginia Mountaineers
What they’re selling: WVU is a force in the Atlantic region, can recruit well in Pennsylvania and is arguably one of the best schools at identifying offensive talent in the JC ranks.
What they're missing: The 2014 class will have to be all about rebuilding in Morgantown, as the needs are mounting while several impact players have moved on.
Baylor Bears
What they’re selling: The new 45,000-seat, $250-million on-campus stadium that will open in 2014. Recruiting is an arms race, and players like fancy stadiums and locker rooms, and Baylor’s upgrade puts them finally on the same level playing field as everybody else in the Big 12.
What they're missing: Help on defense -- specifically at defensive line and defensive back.
Iowa State Cyclones
What they’re selling: Paul Rhoads. He grew up miles from the campus and has helped turn around Iowa State with a physical and fundamentally sound style of football.
What they're missing: A true home-run threat at receiver.
Kansas Jayhawks
What they’re selling: Charlie Weis. He’s taken risks (juco infusion), repaired relationships with area high school coaches and widened KU’s recruiting pool.
What they're missing: Wins. When you’ve won only one conference game in three years, a little bit of everything is missing.
Kansas State Wildcats
What they’re selling: Bill Synder. The plan has worked for years in Manhattan. K-State doesn’t care how many stars a player has attached to his name, a player only earns an offer from K-State unless Snyder personally signs off on it after a lengthy review. It’s a plan that produced a No. 1 BCS ranking and a Big 12 championship in 2012.
What’s missing: I’ve been told by coaches for years that the most difficult position to recruit is defensive tackle. That’s why you often see even average defensive tackles rack up double-digit offers, and finding good depth at defensive tackle has been very difficult to do at K-State.
Oklahoma Sooners
What they’re selling: Oklahoma is proud of its football tradition, and few schools can match the Sooners’ track record for success, facilities and ability to prepare you for the next level.
What they're missing: A renewed focus on evaluating players. It’s what differentiated Bob Stoops’ staff when they started, and it’s how they found players like Sam Bradford, Josh Heupel, Juaquin Iglesias and Donald Stephenson. All at the time were considered to be three-star recruits but wound up being impact players for the Sooners.
Oklahoma State Cowboys
What they’re selling: Their ability to evaluate and develop offensive talent.
What they're missing: Elite players in the Lone Star State. With the best facilities in the conference, it might be just enough to get kids to visit.
Texas Longhorns
What they’re selling: Few in the nation can offer up the type of atmosphere, fan base, tradition and total student-athlete package like Texas can.
What they're missing: A true a difference-maker at quarterback. The last two Heisman Trophy winners have come from Texas high schools, and the Longhorns didn’t recruit one heavily and recruited the other as an athlete.
TCU Horned Frogs
What they’re selling: The Horned Frogs recruit to their style of smash-mouth play on both sides of the ball and don’t care how many stars a recruit has. It hurts them some in the recruiting rankings, but it helps them win a lot of ball games.
What they're missing: BCS conference depth. Heading into their second season in the Big 12 after a 7-6 season, the biggest thing the Horned Frogs need to do is to build the roster to be able to compete year in and year out in the BCS conference.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
What they’re selling: The Red Raiders went through a transition that brought Kliff Kingsbury to Lubbock, and the early reception has been nothing short of positive.
What they're missing: The Red Raiders have never had issues putting up points on people, but under Tommy Tuberville and Mike Leach there was little defense being played.
West Virginia Mountaineers
What they’re selling: WVU is a force in the Atlantic region, can recruit well in Pennsylvania and is arguably one of the best schools at identifying offensive talent in the JC ranks.
What they're missing: The 2014 class will have to be all about rebuilding in Morgantown, as the needs are mounting while several impact players have moved on.
For 2015 Hale Hentges (Jefferson City, Mo./Helias Catholic), the question isn’t about how many offers he’ll end up with. Hentges, at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, already has eight offers -- the latest coming from Nebraska -- and is expected to receive several more before it’s time for him to sign a national letter of intent.
The biggest question for Hentges is where he’ll play in college. Will he be a tight end or a defensive end? He happens to be good at both positions. Very good.
The biggest question for Hentges is where he’ll play in college. Will he be a tight end or a defensive end? He happens to be good at both positions. Very good.
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Entering May, Iowa State and head coach Paul Rhoads had one commitment -- albeit a good one in four-star wide receiver Allen Lazard (Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale), who earned a ticket to The Opening on Sunday at the Chicago Nike Football Training Camp.
The Cyclones welcomed commitment No. 2 on Saturday in cornerback De’Monte Ruth (Dallas/Wilmer-Hutchins), and late Sunday, the Cyclones picked up their third overall commit in safety Victor Holmes (La Porte, Texas/La Porte).
A 5-foot-11, 177-pound safety, Holmes chose Iowa State over heavy interest from Rice. Holmes was recruited to Iowa State by running backs coach Kenith Pope. He visited the campus and took in all that Ames, Iowa, had to offer last month.
The Cyclones welcomed commitment No. 2 on Saturday in cornerback De’Monte Ruth (Dallas/Wilmer-Hutchins), and late Sunday, the Cyclones picked up their third overall commit in safety Victor Holmes (La Porte, Texas/La Porte).
A 5-foot-11, 177-pound safety, Holmes chose Iowa State over heavy interest from Rice. Holmes was recruited to Iowa State by running backs coach Kenith Pope. He visited the campus and took in all that Ames, Iowa, had to offer last month.
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Each week this spring, GigEmNation reporter Sam Khan Jr. will bring you notes and nuggets from watching and visiting with high school football prospects in the Greater Houston area that week, including observations of Texas A&M commitments and targets and other players that catch his attention. Here's this week's installment:
MANVEL, Texas -- Plenty of colleges have their eyes affixed on Manvel (Texas) High School because of 2014 prospect Koda Martin, who we profiled in-depth last week, but there are plenty more reasons for coaches to keep stopping by the school just south of Houston.
The 2013 class was loaded with the likes of receivers Austin Bennett (Oklahoma), Kyrion Parker (Texas A&M) and Carlos Thompson (Texas Tech), cornerback Tavares Garner (Texas A&M), defensive tackle Dewan Edmonson (UTEP), quarterback Shane McCarley (Old Dominon) and center Travis Romero (Southeastern Louisiana). Martin headlines a 2014 class that also includes a large defensive tackle, 6-foot-6, 280-pound Justin Gardner.
MANVEL, Texas -- Plenty of colleges have their eyes affixed on Manvel (Texas) High School because of 2014 prospect Koda Martin, who we profiled in-depth last week, but there are plenty more reasons for coaches to keep stopping by the school just south of Houston.
The 2013 class was loaded with the likes of receivers Austin Bennett (Oklahoma), Kyrion Parker (Texas A&M) and Carlos Thompson (Texas Tech), cornerback Tavares Garner (Texas A&M), defensive tackle Dewan Edmonson (UTEP), quarterback Shane McCarley (Old Dominon) and center Travis Romero (Southeastern Louisiana). Martin headlines a 2014 class that also includes a large defensive tackle, 6-foot-6, 280-pound Justin Gardner.
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Of all the Big 12 schools, Iowa State watched its recruiting for 2014 start out the gate the slowest. Saturday afternoon, the Cyclones picked up a sleeper who could be an asset to the growth of the class.
Cornerback De’Monte Ruth (Dallas/Wilmer-Hutchins) committed to Iowa State and joined four-star receiver Allen Lazard (Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) in the 2014 class. Ruth, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound defensive back, chose Iowa State over an offer from Sam Houston State.
Cornerback De’Monte Ruth (Dallas/Wilmer-Hutchins) committed to Iowa State and joined four-star receiver Allen Lazard (Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) in the 2014 class. Ruth, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound defensive back, chose Iowa State over an offer from Sam Houston State.
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Each week this spring, GigEmNation reporter Sam Khan Jr. will bring you notes and nuggets from watching and visiting with high school football prospects in the Greater Houston area that week, including observations of Texas A&M commitments and targets and other players that catch his attention. Here's this week's installment:
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Before the electricity the Texas Tech spring game provided, Ian Sadler (Argyle, Texas/Argyle) decided to make things even better for the Red Raiders late Saturday morning.
Sadler, a 5-foot-10, 192-pound receiver, verbally committed to Texas Tech today and became the Red Raiders’ sixth overall commitment of the 2014 recruiting class. Sadler chose Texas Tech over offers from Minnesota, Iowa State and North Texas.
Thsi was Sadler’s third visit to Texas Tech, and it proved to be the charm. The Red Raiders will get a player who was a 1,000-yard receiver as a junior.
Sadler, a 5-foot-10, 192-pound receiver, verbally committed to Texas Tech today and became the Red Raiders’ sixth overall commitment of the 2014 recruiting class. Sadler chose Texas Tech over offers from Minnesota, Iowa State and North Texas.
Thsi was Sadler’s third visit to Texas Tech, and it proved to be the charm. The Red Raiders will get a player who was a 1,000-yard receiver as a junior.
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ESPN Watch List offensive guard D.J. Foster (Lincoln, Neb./Southeast) has been laying low in recent weeks, focusing on improving as a player and taking a closer look at the options he currently has.
A player knocking on double-digit offers, Foster said he doesn’t have plans on making an immediate decision regarding his college future. Foster has offers from Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Iowa, Iowa State and Nebraska, among others, and he said other top programs are showing heavy interest.
A player knocking on double-digit offers, Foster said he doesn’t have plans on making an immediate decision regarding his college future. Foster has offers from Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Iowa, Iowa State and Nebraska, among others, and he said other top programs are showing heavy interest.
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What’s a 13-letter word for intensity, blue-collar and explosiveness?
Try L-E-A-L-A-I-M-A-T-A-F-A-O.
Defensive tackle Trey Lealaimatafao (San Antonio/Warren) is one of the fastest-rising linemen in Texas.
Try L-E-A-L-A-I-M-A-T-A-F-A-O.
Defensive tackle Trey Lealaimatafao (San Antonio/Warren) is one of the fastest-rising linemen in Texas.
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An old connection has Garrett Taylor thinking about the Big 12.
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PLANO, Texas -- Cameron Westbrook (Edmond, Okla./Santa Fe) is a competitor, and he’ll be the first to say that publicly. Being a competitor makes Westbrook, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound running back, want to use last season as motivation. It also helped to make the time of Sunday’s 3 ½-hour drive from Edmond to Plano, Texas, speed by a little quicker.
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The one thing about junior days that hardly gets recognized: It’s the perfect time for an athlete who knows little about a program to get as much information as possible.
That’s the primary objective for athlete Alim Muhammad (St. Louis/Mary Institute Country Day School), as he prepares for Saturday’s junior day at Kansas State. A 5-foot-9, 155-pound athlete who can play both sides of the ball, Muhammad feels a lot of questions he has about the program and the city of Manhattan, Kan., can be answered with a positive visit.
That’s the primary objective for athlete Alim Muhammad (St. Louis/Mary Institute Country Day School), as he prepares for Saturday’s junior day at Kansas State. A 5-foot-9, 155-pound athlete who can play both sides of the ball, Muhammad feels a lot of questions he has about the program and the city of Manhattan, Kan., can be answered with a positive visit.
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ESPN Watch List defensive end Peyton Newell (Hiawatha, Kan./Hiawatha) estimates that he has picked up seven new offers over the last two weeks. His offer list stretches from UCLA to South Carolina and from Texas to Michigan State. Twenty-seven schools so far have extended verbal offers to the 6-foot-3, 270-pound junior, including the Georgia Bulldogs who offered on Wednesday.
“Yesterday I got offers from Georgia and Michigan State on the same day,” Newell said. “So it has been definitely crazy. I think I have gotten an offer from every conference. It is overwhelming and exciting. And I am very blessed to be in the situation that I am in with being able to have my choice on where to go. So I am really excited for next year.”
The Bulldogs’ coaching staff may be the latest offer but Newell has been on Georgia’s radar for a while.
“Yesterday I got offers from Georgia and Michigan State on the same day,” Newell said. “So it has been definitely crazy. I think I have gotten an offer from every conference. It is overwhelming and exciting. And I am very blessed to be in the situation that I am in with being able to have my choice on where to go. So I am really excited for next year.”
The Bulldogs’ coaching staff may be the latest offer but Newell has been on Georgia’s radar for a while.
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RECRUITING NATION MIDLANDS COVERAGE
The Midlands Region consists of the states of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and
Texas and is where Big 12 programs make a living recruiting. However, with the deep talent pool in the Lone Star State, teams from all over the country flock to the Midlands to find players.
More RecruitingNation blogs
RecruitingNation has the latest recruiting news from across the country:
• On The Trail
• East Region blog
• Midwest Region blog
• Southeast Region blog
• West Region blog
MIDLANDS RECRUITING CONTRIBUTORS
Sam KhanESPN Archive |
Max OlsonESPN Archive |
Bob PrzybyloESPN Archive |
Damon SaylesESPN Archive |
Mitch ShermanESPN Archive |
William WilkersonESPN Archive |
