On new redshirt rules and how it will impact Iowa State:
Yeah, I think for me core philosophy won't change. I've always told young men that we recruited I would rather play you too late than too early. I don't want to put you in a position that would rob us of the opportunity to be successful when you're ready to be successful. I do think that it is certainly a rule that helps the team especially like our program where you can develop these young guys in your program and maybe you get to the months of November and late October when you need some of these capable bodies and guys that have proven that they're ready to play. You can actually put them in the game and help your overall depth and your football team and your football program. I do think that's big for us. We've put a lot of thought into that, how we will continue to build our program and how we will continue to develop those young guys early in their career. But I know it's something that I think would have helped us a year ago and certainly could be a deciding factor for us moving forward as well.
On putting last year's success into the recruiting effort:
Yeah, I think the biggest thing and any coach in the country when they get to a new school they're selling a vision, that's the reality of it. Until there becomes some validity to the vision they're selling, you're just selling. So I do think the one thing that's really helped us in our recruiting process now is that we can actually put some reality to this is who we are, this is what we're trying to become and this is where we're trying to go with Iowa State football. I think the thing I love about our coaching staff is we really know what we're looking for in the recruiting process, what fits us, what fits our culture and to be able now to tell those young men this is who we are and how we're going to get there, and this is where we're also trying to go. I think that's helped us. So I think just the ability to give us reality to what the vision of Iowa State football going forward is going to look like.
On new uniforms and the mixing and matching possibilities:
t's been a hot topic in Ames. The reality for us and I will be the first one to tell you I'm probably the biggest uniform guy out there, but I do know that we're excited. It's a sleek new look. We will definitely mix and match. We've always done that no matter what uniforms we've worn is try to let our kids have great input into what they look like and feel like on game day. I am a big proponent of that.
On the ceiling for Iowa State football and how to get there:
Sure. One of my things that I love doing is studying this great game. I don't have a lot of hobbies so my biggest hobby is football. For me, I don't know what the ceiling is. I know what the next step looks like and that's to add consistency to a football program. If you want to be a real program you have to have great consistency into who you are year in and year out. I think that's the next step for our program and where we want to go and show that we can consistently become a winner in the Big 12 Conference. For me, studying this sport, Boise State, watching what Coach Peterson has done at Washington, what Coach Kelly did at Oregon, there are some great lessons in our sports. They've been some really great lessons learned for young coaches out there if you're willing to learn and see how successful coaches have built cultures and started to sustain success that like you said, maybe not at traditional powers.
On bringing David Montgomery to Iowa State:
Yeah, you know, that's great story. He did have Toledo as an offer, and obviously when we got to Iowa State he was one of the first names we put on the board when we got there about, number one, are we going to take a running back? And number two, here is a guy that not only from a positional need, but stands for what we're looking for to build our football program around. David, my favorite story at Toledo is we had two running backs that were committed, but we found out about David at a senior evaluation camp going into his senior year. We went down to Cincinnati, Ohio. We traveled and were there and he literally is still to this day one of the best camps I've every seen a running back ever have. At that time we didn't have a scholarship available for a running back, but I told him we're coming back for you. I didn't know that I would be coming back from Ames, Iowa for him, and I was happy that he wanted to come here. I was happy to go back and get David. Has he exceeded my expectations? I don't think so. I think the greatest thing about David is who he is as a worker, what he is in terms of worker, attitude, commitment to be the best version of himself, that's never wavered and nothing has surprised me of why he's been able to have great success and I think there are great things to come from David Montgomery.
Yeah, I think for me core philosophy won't change. I've always told young men that we recruited I would rather play you too late than too early. I don't want to put you in a position that would rob us of the opportunity to be successful when you're ready to be successful. I do think that it is certainly a rule that helps the team especially like our program where you can develop these young guys in your program and maybe you get to the months of November and late October when you need some of these capable bodies and guys that have proven that they're ready to play. You can actually put them in the game and help your overall depth and your football team and your football program. I do think that's big for us. We've put a lot of thought into that, how we will continue to build our program and how we will continue to develop those young guys early in their career. But I know it's something that I think would have helped us a year ago and certainly could be a deciding factor for us moving forward as well.
On putting last year's success into the recruiting effort:
Yeah, I think the biggest thing and any coach in the country when they get to a new school they're selling a vision, that's the reality of it. Until there becomes some validity to the vision they're selling, you're just selling. So I do think the one thing that's really helped us in our recruiting process now is that we can actually put some reality to this is who we are, this is what we're trying to become and this is where we're trying to go with Iowa State football. I think the thing I love about our coaching staff is we really know what we're looking for in the recruiting process, what fits us, what fits our culture and to be able now to tell those young men this is who we are and how we're going to get there, and this is where we're also trying to go. I think that's helped us. So I think just the ability to give us reality to what the vision of Iowa State football going forward is going to look like.
On new uniforms and the mixing and matching possibilities:
t's been a hot topic in Ames. The reality for us and I will be the first one to tell you I'm probably the biggest uniform guy out there, but I do know that we're excited. It's a sleek new look. We will definitely mix and match. We've always done that no matter what uniforms we've worn is try to let our kids have great input into what they look like and feel like on game day. I am a big proponent of that.
On the ceiling for Iowa State football and how to get there:
Sure. One of my things that I love doing is studying this great game. I don't have a lot of hobbies so my biggest hobby is football. For me, I don't know what the ceiling is. I know what the next step looks like and that's to add consistency to a football program. If you want to be a real program you have to have great consistency into who you are year in and year out. I think that's the next step for our program and where we want to go and show that we can consistently become a winner in the Big 12 Conference. For me, studying this sport, Boise State, watching what Coach Peterson has done at Washington, what Coach Kelly did at Oregon, there are some great lessons in our sports. They've been some really great lessons learned for young coaches out there if you're willing to learn and see how successful coaches have built cultures and started to sustain success that like you said, maybe not at traditional powers.
On bringing David Montgomery to Iowa State:
Yeah, you know, that's great story. He did have Toledo as an offer, and obviously when we got to Iowa State he was one of the first names we put on the board when we got there about, number one, are we going to take a running back? And number two, here is a guy that not only from a positional need, but stands for what we're looking for to build our football program around. David, my favorite story at Toledo is we had two running backs that were committed, but we found out about David at a senior evaluation camp going into his senior year. We went down to Cincinnati, Ohio. We traveled and were there and he literally is still to this day one of the best camps I've every seen a running back ever have. At that time we didn't have a scholarship available for a running back, but I told him we're coming back for you. I didn't know that I would be coming back from Ames, Iowa for him, and I was happy that he wanted to come here. I was happy to go back and get David. Has he exceeded my expectations? I don't think so. I think the greatest thing about David is who he is as a worker, what he is in terms of worker, attitude, commitment to be the best version of himself, that's never wavered and nothing has surprised me of why he's been able to have great success and I think there are great things to come from David Montgomery.
