Still not quite where we need to be yet

I was looking at the Rivals database the other day that lists all of our committments from 2002 to this recruiting season. It also still contains the players ranking when he signed. Now, I've not a big supporter of ranking kids out of high school, because just as many 0 to 3 star kids are stars, just like the 4 and 5 starred players. I know that there are many, many more 0 to 3 star kids than 4s and 5s, so that does cloud things a bit. However, looking back at 2002, when Gerry DiNardo was still coaching here and the kids he brought in, then Hep's arrival, and now Coach Lynch, the talent level has grown a lot over these past 7 years or so.

In 2002, we signed 21 kids and 3 of them (Graeme McFarland, Alan Webb, and Sean Miller) were 3-star ranked by Rivals. Both Webb and Miller never played a down at IU, and McFarland didn't fit into Hep's scheme offensively when he came, so he transferred. Out of that class, Bo Greer went to JuCo and then ended up starting 2 years as an OL at New Mexico; John Kerr played 1 season and then sat the bench at the O$U; Chris Taylor is the only one that made an NFL roster, albeit the practice squad of the Houston Texans. All in all, this class didn't do much of anything, though we got starting time out some of them.

In 2003, we signed 25 kids and 7 of them (Altman, Burns, Faires, Meyers, Powers, Sexton, and Stubblefield) were 3-star ranked. Again, these guys were recruited for a running, pound it out offense, and when Coach Hep brought the spread in, most of these guys ended up switching positions or leaving. Altman and Stubblefield left, Burns never did anything, Faires and Powers switched positions, and only Sexton and especially Meyers produced much, though Faires did well last season at DE. Again, this class was plagued with transfers or those not even showing up, or just plain not developing like many thought they would. We got a lot more production out this class than from the 2002 class, so the talent level was improving, but it was at a crawl.

In 2004, this was DiNardo's last class and 5 (Bailey, Jadron, Love, Price, and Szczesny) were 3-star ranked. Again, there was underachievement, position switches, and transfers throughout this class as well. That tends to happen when a program switches coaches, but to really miss out 3 years in a row was pretty devastating to the program. Of the 3 starts, Bailey, Jadron, and Szczesny left; Price has switched positions 3 differents, and Love is a 2nd string OL, not at DT where he was recruited. However, what was very good about this class was the development of the 2-star ranked or below kids that really matured and raised their games to a whole new level. Hardy, Brown, Majors, Phillips, Porter (no stars by the way), and Thigpen have all produced very well through out their careers at IU. Of this group, Hardy and Porter were drafted this year and Majors is in camp with the Bears, and I believe Brown and Thigpen will get drafted late next season as well. This class was more about development under the new staff, than anything, but again, we moved forward production wise from 2002 and 2003, so we were still crawling upward.

In 2005, Hep's first class, we only signed 3 (Payton, McCray, and Matt Lewis), 3-star ranked kids. Again, with any new coach taking over, especially from a lower conference, kids need to see progression before they bring talent in. So on paper, this class would rank lower than the other classes, because of the ranking of the kids signing. This class has been a disappointing class because only Kirlew, Johnson,Polk, and Thomas have been major producers. In fact of the 25 kids we signed, 7 have transferred out. Most of the others are role players. Personally, I feel we dropped a little bit from 2004 with this class, but that's to be expected with a coaching change in the middle of it.

In 2006, Hep's first true class, we signed 21 kids with 5 of them (Faulkner, Mayberry, Perry, Sanders, and Vernon Smith) being 3-star ranked. So this class showed progress, talent wise anyway, as we began once again to crawl forward as a program. Out of this class, 2 (V. Smith and Roberts) have transferred, 10 are back ups this season, and 9 of them are penciled in as starters. This class also brough in the "7 Blocks of Limestone" and all 5 OL starters will be from this group this season. This class also brought us Greg Middleton, who was a 2 star ranked kid, but has developed into one of the premier pass rushers in the entire country and led the country in sacks last season.

In 2007, the hype was beginning to build in and around the program. Coach Hep, though diagnosed with a Brain Tumor, was beginning to bring excitement to the program. The AD and the University announced plans for a new academic/athletic center and a renovation to Memorial Stadium. Also, fans were starting to show up, not a lot of them, but more and more each game. IU signed 20 kids with 5 of them (Boyd, Dedmond, Jones, Schell, and Thomas) being 3-star ranked. This class also featured 3 kids from 4-time defending football champion Warren Central, however, this class lost it's biggest fish in Jerimy Finch, the programs first 5-star committment in years. All 20 of these players are still at IU, which is fantastic. While only punter Chris Hagerup and Max Dedmond are penciled in as starters, this group is pretty talented, as was evident from the Spring game. The talent level that this class has brought is evident on the practice field and it is hoped that they will be able to prove that in games over the next few seasons. Again, I'd say the talent level rose up another rung or 2, especially now that Finch has transferred back to IU from Florida. Also, we went bowling for the first time in over a decade and we are now beginning to reap the benefits of a winning season and a bowl game in recruiting.

This coming fall, IU will welcome 19 kids to the team (originally 20, but Suel is not academically eligible) with 5 of them (Adetona, Covington, Kozak, Smith, and Willis) being 3 star ranked. You can just see the ability of some of these signees being a lot better than we've had over the past few years. Other than Finch, Darius Willis is the biggest recruit to come to IU football in some time, in fact, he's probably underranked and should be a 4-star recruit in my opinion. Also, Tyler Adetona and Tandon Doss are a couple of WRs that I expect will compete for playing time this season. There's a lot to like about this incoming class because we were not just battling upper echelon MAC and other low end Big Ten programs for kids, we did battle with some regional and BCS programs for these players, which is a great sign. We didn't win all our battles, but this class is the most talented, even on paper, that we've seen at IU for at least a decade.

Now, we fast forward to this current recruiting season for the 2009 class. So far we have 8 verbals (6 are 3-star ranked and 2 have no rankings because they haven't been evaluated by Rivals yet). Like I mentioned previously, last season, we went bowling for the first time in over a decade, we squeaked out a winning season, and of course, we beat Purdue and played 13 for Hep. Last season has gotten the attention of recruits in Indiana and around the Midwest. It appears to me that to consistantly get 3 star ranked kids, you have to have winning seasons and get to bowl games. However, to get 4 star ranked and above kids, you have to have a tradition of winning and producing NFL kids, win bowl games, especially high profiled games on New Year's Day, and compete for conference titles. IU isn't there yet, and I think that's why we are losing out on the 4-star kids some. We've had 1 winning season, and while we are team climbing the ladder, we are still not quite where we need to be yet to consistantly get those 4 and 5 star kids.

This season though, we have a chance to really do some things. It's extremely feasible to win 9 or 10 games this season, and while our strength of schedule won't be that great, winning that many games will get us ESPN Gameday time and should put us into a very good bowl with a shot at winning one. I will predict that if IU can win 9 or more games, and win their bowl game, we'll see some 4 stars either finishing out this class or starting the 2010 class. Kids want to know what have you done for me lately, and for the 2010 class the stadium will be done and the athletic/academic center will be complete. This season is really a big year for this program. Even with a weaker schedule, we could really reap some benefits for once with this program with some bigtime recruits.

Yeah, it stinks to be so tight with DJ Hunter and 1, 1/2 day visit to Knoxville nets a verbal, but such is life. Also, my hunch tells me we haven't heard the last of Mr. Hunter either. A big year from this program and more DB verbals from Tennessee, and I honestly think you could still see DJ in cream and crimson. It's still a long time until February. As for now, our young gun assistants are working the recruiting trails hard. We are still in on several high profile 3-star kids, so the cubboard is not bare.

Hope all are well! God Bless!!