A quick glance on who we are after and what this class might look like:
QB: I think that it's Kohl and then everyone else. They were in on some other highly rated guys, but have fallen out of the running there. I think Kohl was always 1B or 1C. We seem to be the leader, but he's holding out committing longer than we'd like. IMO he's the key in-state, as Black and Patton are on his 7 on 7 team and getting a commitment from Kohl would likely start the dominos.
RB: I think that the guy they want is Nate White from Milwaukee. But it's going to be tough to pull him with the recent Badger offer. We have a lot to offer at RB with Montgomery starting for the Bears and Breece being either first or second RB picked. But they can also afford to be extremely picky. Supposedly Norton is looking really good this spring, so that is a 4 deep of good backs with none graduating. I kind of feel like if they don't get the guys they really want, they may not sign a RB in this class.
WR: This is a position that I have no idea who they're really after other than Kai Black. I think that they have a shot with Rocco's old WR Bryson Rodgers. And maybe we have a chance with Joshua Manning from Lees Summit just because Scheelhause is recruiting him. Other than that, maybe Kenyon Sadiq from ID or Beni Ngoyi from Lincoln if the Huskers pass. Interesting position, because we're going to have to replace Hutchinson, Wilson and Shaw. Will definitely be depending on Gaines, Noel and Jackson, but they will need to fill in behind them.
TE: I for one think that Carson Rhodes is a future OL. He has the size of Burkle (or Soehner coming out of HS), but I don't think that he's as fast as those two. My guess is that their primary target is Will Anciaux from Wichita. Even though it's getting harder to recruit KS with KU and KSU kind of on the rise, we do have a lot to sell TE's and there's a long relationship with Anciaux. If they can't get him, I'm not sure where they go. Klopfenstein and Camp McGee have major offers locally that we'd have to battle. The good thing is with a fairly young TE room, they can take a chance on a project...a HS WR that you can put 40 lbs on.
OL: I think Rhodes is the starting point here. We only signed 2 OLs in the last class plus the JUCO, so I expect this to be a group of more like 4. I think that they have a decent chance at Henderson (StL), Knutson (NE), Ludwig (OH), Chapman (MN), Otting (KS). We'll see how they do.
DL: They already have 2 on board with Cunningham and Hammond. So, I don't expect a bunch more here. If they can somehow get an Elinneus Davis or a Tyler Gant, you make room for them. But, I do like the guys that they have already...big thick kids that are able to play inside or outside.
DE: They definitely have to sign 1-2 here given McDonald will graduate and Blake Peterson and MJ Anderson will be JRs this year. I expect them to make a run at Samuel Same and then Adebawore has a relationship with some of our players from KC. Blake Purchase would be a home run here. We'll see if we can make his final cut.
LB: With 4 the last class (including the JUCO Ellis) and 3 the class before, I don't expect them to sign more than 2 this year. My guess is that their first choice is Sadowsky and McKinney. Maybe throw Hayden Moore in that group as well. It will be interesting to see where they slot Cooper Ebel from Hartley. It looks to me like he has LB size, but I don't know about LB speed. Does he have the frame to grow into a DE? People here who have seen him play would know a lot more about that than I do. I don't think that they need to reach too much at LB, as they have a pretty full room even with losing Vance, Reeder, Vaughn and Jackson after this year.
CB: Man, I have no idea here. They signed two underrecruited guys last year and who knows how they'll do. Seems like that's the kind of CBs that we can get. More than any other position, this staff seems to have trouble getting CBs they want or keeping them committed. I have a feeling that this position will go into fall.
S: Obviously, Patton is the main target here. They've hit Safety pretty hard the past few classes and found some really good players. So, they're pretty young at the position overall. They have a shot at Nestor, but who knows? I'd keep an eye on Ben Minich from OH.
Other in-state: They've had offers out to David Borchers and Johnathon Humpal for awhile, but you don't hear anything about them visiting recently, so maybe they are down the board some. Maybe AJ Peterson or Beau Knobloch get late or camp offers since they have ISU connections.
QB: I think that it's Kohl and then everyone else. They were in on some other highly rated guys, but have fallen out of the running there. I think Kohl was always 1B or 1C. We seem to be the leader, but he's holding out committing longer than we'd like. IMO he's the key in-state, as Black and Patton are on his 7 on 7 team and getting a commitment from Kohl would likely start the dominos.
RB: I think that the guy they want is Nate White from Milwaukee. But it's going to be tough to pull him with the recent Badger offer. We have a lot to offer at RB with Montgomery starting for the Bears and Breece being either first or second RB picked. But they can also afford to be extremely picky. Supposedly Norton is looking really good this spring, so that is a 4 deep of good backs with none graduating. I kind of feel like if they don't get the guys they really want, they may not sign a RB in this class.
WR: This is a position that I have no idea who they're really after other than Kai Black. I think that they have a shot with Rocco's old WR Bryson Rodgers. And maybe we have a chance with Joshua Manning from Lees Summit just because Scheelhause is recruiting him. Other than that, maybe Kenyon Sadiq from ID or Beni Ngoyi from Lincoln if the Huskers pass. Interesting position, because we're going to have to replace Hutchinson, Wilson and Shaw. Will definitely be depending on Gaines, Noel and Jackson, but they will need to fill in behind them.
TE: I for one think that Carson Rhodes is a future OL. He has the size of Burkle (or Soehner coming out of HS), but I don't think that he's as fast as those two. My guess is that their primary target is Will Anciaux from Wichita. Even though it's getting harder to recruit KS with KU and KSU kind of on the rise, we do have a lot to sell TE's and there's a long relationship with Anciaux. If they can't get him, I'm not sure where they go. Klopfenstein and Camp McGee have major offers locally that we'd have to battle. The good thing is with a fairly young TE room, they can take a chance on a project...a HS WR that you can put 40 lbs on.
OL: I think Rhodes is the starting point here. We only signed 2 OLs in the last class plus the JUCO, so I expect this to be a group of more like 4. I think that they have a decent chance at Henderson (StL), Knutson (NE), Ludwig (OH), Chapman (MN), Otting (KS). We'll see how they do.
DL: They already have 2 on board with Cunningham and Hammond. So, I don't expect a bunch more here. If they can somehow get an Elinneus Davis or a Tyler Gant, you make room for them. But, I do like the guys that they have already...big thick kids that are able to play inside or outside.
DE: They definitely have to sign 1-2 here given McDonald will graduate and Blake Peterson and MJ Anderson will be JRs this year. I expect them to make a run at Samuel Same and then Adebawore has a relationship with some of our players from KC. Blake Purchase would be a home run here. We'll see if we can make his final cut.
LB: With 4 the last class (including the JUCO Ellis) and 3 the class before, I don't expect them to sign more than 2 this year. My guess is that their first choice is Sadowsky and McKinney. Maybe throw Hayden Moore in that group as well. It will be interesting to see where they slot Cooper Ebel from Hartley. It looks to me like he has LB size, but I don't know about LB speed. Does he have the frame to grow into a DE? People here who have seen him play would know a lot more about that than I do. I don't think that they need to reach too much at LB, as they have a pretty full room even with losing Vance, Reeder, Vaughn and Jackson after this year.
CB: Man, I have no idea here. They signed two underrecruited guys last year and who knows how they'll do. Seems like that's the kind of CBs that we can get. More than any other position, this staff seems to have trouble getting CBs they want or keeping them committed. I have a feeling that this position will go into fall.
S: Obviously, Patton is the main target here. They've hit Safety pretty hard the past few classes and found some really good players. So, they're pretty young at the position overall. They have a shot at Nestor, but who knows? I'd keep an eye on Ben Minich from OH.
Other in-state: They've had offers out to David Borchers and Johnathon Humpal for awhile, but you don't hear anything about them visiting recently, so maybe they are down the board some. Maybe AJ Peterson or Beau Knobloch get late or camp offers since they have ISU connections.
