by Bill Seals
After shutting down the recruiting process in April, Iowa State offensive line commit Jeff Nogaj was able to enjoy his last summer at home like every other kid heading into his senior year likes to.
The Johnstown-Monroe (Ohio) standout, who picked the Cyclones after a visit in April, said much of his time in the months that followed have been about personal gain and ensuring his team is ready to pursue a state championship.
"Since I've been committed to Iowa State, it's opened up a lot of things," said Nogaj during a recent in-person interview with CycloneReport.com. "I don't have the stress of going to camps, trying to perform my best and get coaches to look at me. I don't have to worry about any of that. I'm here all the time with my team, building that bond and trying to get where we want to go. It's my last summer before going to college. It's fun hanging out with the guys and going through practice.
"Individually, I was able to improve a lot on my fitness and mental state of recognizing defenses, defensive lineups and understanding what schemes they do with certain lineups. If they have a five-man front, they're usually not going to blitz. If they're in a 3-4, they're probably going to send pressure."
Nogaj admits he was never real high on the recruiting process to begin with. He also had interest from Wisconsin at the time of his commitment, but says he saw everything he needed to in the Cyclones to put an end to the process.
"Going into my sophomore and junior years, I went to Toledo camp," he said. "Coach (Matt) Campbell and Coach (Tom) Manning were there and liked me a lot. They kept talking to me. When they moved to Iowa State, they continued to talk to me. For me to get there, it's an 11 1/2 hour drive and they're still trying to recruit me after moving up a level. To me that showed the commitment they had to their players and how far they're willing to go to get the players they want."
The Cyclones also had seen everything they needed to in Nogaj, accepting the recruit's verbal commitment on the spot without any slow-playing involved.
"From my sophomore highlights to junior highlights, they said it was night and day," Nogaj said. "I had grown that much as a player and that much as an athlete. They said if I could continue that growth, I'd be able to play in the Big 12. Coach Manning believes I could play anywhere on the line and that I'm versatile enough and athletic enough to be able to play any position."
The 6-foot-5, 315-pound Nogaj has been on campus once since picking the Cyclones, taking an unoffical in late-June along with several other commitments. He was excited to see all of the same team elements in place during the barbeque hosted by the coaching staff.
"As a whole, they don't try to segregate anybody," he said. "They like to keep together and don't have any thing separate them. They don't let disputes separate them, stay close-knit and try to stay unififed. It reminds me a little bit of my team. Everyone knows everyone. You try hard not to mess up."
A quiet kid from a small community northeast of Columbus, Nogaj keeps a pretty low-profile during a time in which many recruits crave the attention they get through social media. He maintains a Twitter page, but has sent one tweet this year.
"I'm not a very flashy guy," he said. "I don't post a lot of things out there and I like being under the radar. I'm very disciplined in some of the things I do. I'm very hard on myself. If I mess up on a play, my coach may say I didn't do that bad of a job but to me it's one of the worst things I could do on the field. I'm always trying to get better and better."
Nogaj said he's still feeling the love from the coaching staff and that he's heard the most from the Cyclones' area recruiter Jon Heacock. The offensive tackle has yet to schedule his official visit to ISU.
After shutting down the recruiting process in April, Iowa State offensive line commit Jeff Nogaj was able to enjoy his last summer at home like every other kid heading into his senior year likes to.
The Johnstown-Monroe (Ohio) standout, who picked the Cyclones after a visit in April, said much of his time in the months that followed have been about personal gain and ensuring his team is ready to pursue a state championship.
"Since I've been committed to Iowa State, it's opened up a lot of things," said Nogaj during a recent in-person interview with CycloneReport.com. "I don't have the stress of going to camps, trying to perform my best and get coaches to look at me. I don't have to worry about any of that. I'm here all the time with my team, building that bond and trying to get where we want to go. It's my last summer before going to college. It's fun hanging out with the guys and going through practice.
"Individually, I was able to improve a lot on my fitness and mental state of recognizing defenses, defensive lineups and understanding what schemes they do with certain lineups. If they have a five-man front, they're usually not going to blitz. If they're in a 3-4, they're probably going to send pressure."
Nogaj admits he was never real high on the recruiting process to begin with. He also had interest from Wisconsin at the time of his commitment, but says he saw everything he needed to in the Cyclones to put an end to the process.
"Going into my sophomore and junior years, I went to Toledo camp," he said. "Coach (Matt) Campbell and Coach (Tom) Manning were there and liked me a lot. They kept talking to me. When they moved to Iowa State, they continued to talk to me. For me to get there, it's an 11 1/2 hour drive and they're still trying to recruit me after moving up a level. To me that showed the commitment they had to their players and how far they're willing to go to get the players they want."
The Cyclones also had seen everything they needed to in Nogaj, accepting the recruit's verbal commitment on the spot without any slow-playing involved.
"From my sophomore highlights to junior highlights, they said it was night and day," Nogaj said. "I had grown that much as a player and that much as an athlete. They said if I could continue that growth, I'd be able to play in the Big 12. Coach Manning believes I could play anywhere on the line and that I'm versatile enough and athletic enough to be able to play any position."
The 6-foot-5, 315-pound Nogaj has been on campus once since picking the Cyclones, taking an unoffical in late-June along with several other commitments. He was excited to see all of the same team elements in place during the barbeque hosted by the coaching staff.
"As a whole, they don't try to segregate anybody," he said. "They like to keep together and don't have any thing separate them. They don't let disputes separate them, stay close-knit and try to stay unififed. It reminds me a little bit of my team. Everyone knows everyone. You try hard not to mess up."
A quiet kid from a small community northeast of Columbus, Nogaj keeps a pretty low-profile during a time in which many recruits crave the attention they get through social media. He maintains a Twitter page, but has sent one tweet this year.
"I'm not a very flashy guy," he said. "I don't post a lot of things out there and I like being under the radar. I'm very disciplined in some of the things I do. I'm very hard on myself. If I mess up on a play, my coach may say I didn't do that bad of a job but to me it's one of the worst things I could do on the field. I'm always trying to get better and better."
Nogaj said he's still feeling the love from the coaching staff and that he's heard the most from the Cyclones' area recruiter Jon Heacock. The offensive tackle has yet to schedule his official visit to ISU.
