ISU Pipeline Analysis: QBs & RBs
National Signing Day 2017 is in the books and Iowa State’s recruiting class will rank somewhere in the 40s nationally when all is said and done. On paper, on signing day, it stacks up as the best Cyclone recruiting class since 2004.
But football is a quality AND quantity sport and success isn’t built on one solid recruiting class. It’s built on stacking solid recruiting classes one upon another. So naturally, the Iowa State coaching staff has long been at work on the 2018 recruiting cycle.
In a series of analysis articles, we’re recapping the current Cyclone football personnel pipeline by position group, adding in 2017 signees, and projecting what ISU needs to do in its 2018 class. First up: the quarterbacks and running backs.
Quarterback (Quota: 4)
Current Pipeline (4)
Seniors – Joel Lanning
Juniors – Jacob Park
Sophomores – None
RS Freshmen – Zeb Noland
Freshmen – Devon Moore
Pipeline Analysis: There’s good distribution among the classes with three QBs spread out over four classes, with no sophs. Park is likely to be the quarterback that takes the most snaps this fall, but there is still a significant role to play for the senior Lanning and I-State showed the makings of having a very effective two-quarterback approach at times last season. Noland has time to continue to develop with an eye on the starting job in 2019.
2017 Class Analysis: The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Moore is a good fit for the Cyclone offense with his dual threat capabilities. The relationship between Moore and many of the ISU coaches goes back to Toledo and he was the first recruiting commitment of the Matt Campbell era back in November 2015 – almost simultaneous to Campbell taking the Iowa State job.
2018 Needs Analysis (1): With Lanning’s graduation after the ’17 season, Iowa State will be looking for a quarterback in its next recruiting class and has already extended a dozen or more verbal offers. Early names to keep in mind include MJ Rivers (Plano, Tex.), Quincy Patterson (Chicago, Ill.) and Kaleb Eleby (Maryland Heights, Mo.)
Running Back (Quota: 5)
Current Pipeline (4)
Seniors – None
Juniors – Mike Warren
Sophomores – Sheldon Croney, David Montgomery, Kene Nwangwu
RS Freshmen – None
Freshmen – None
Pipeline Analysis: The running back group lacks eligibility balance with three now in the sophomore class due to Montgomery and Nwangwu both playing as true freshmen. Although they make a nice “thunder and lightning” combo, where does that leave Croney? Warren yielded to Montgomery as ISU’s feature back as the 2016 season played out, calling into question what his role would be over the next two seasons.
2017 Class Analysis: When all was said and done, I-State did not sign any running backs in its most recent class. The Cyclone coaches evaluated many and conditionally offered several, including a handful that camped in Ames last summer. In the end, there wasn’t a fit anywhere. But it’s okay because the backs on the current roster are a young group and there are walk-ons available to provide depth beyond the four on scholarship.
2018 Needs Analysis (1): It is very unlikely that Iowa State would go back-to-back recruiting classes without taking any running backs. Assuming no attrition, the Cyclones would need one back in 2018 to get to a healthy stable of five. If there is attrition, that need could grow to two. JUCO doesn’t make sense with the pipeline bulge where it is, so this should be purely a high school recruiting effort for 2018. In-stater Saybein Clark (Sioux City), Joshua Fleeks (Cedar Hill, Tex.), Elijah Collins (Detroit, Mich.) and Kelan Walker (DeSoto, Tex.) are a trio of three stars on ISU’s radar early.
