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What to expect from Matt Campbell's first Iowa State class
Andy Hamilton
ahamilton@dmreg.com
He was a mid-major college football coach who heard all the reasons why he should steer clear when the athletic director of a moribund Big 12 program came calling.
A 3-9 season preceded the firing of the previous coach, and an unforgiving conference schedule increased the odds that the next guy in line would suffer the same fate.
But the up-and-coming coach saw a fan base starved for football success and sparkling new facilities as two building blocks. He took the job, poured his energy into his first recruiting class and signed the cornerstones that changed the direction of Baylor football.
This is the Art Briles story. It's one that gives Iowa State fans hope for a better football future under rookie coach Matt Campbell. Hey, they figure, if Baylor can turn things around after 14 straight losing seasons, why can't the Cyclones?
In 2008, Briles inked 23 players to his first class with the Bears. At the time, it seemed more like a positive first step for a program trying to shake its losing past rather than a franchise-changing development. But in that class — one ranked No. 51 nationally by Rivals.com — Briles landed Heisman Trophy quarterback Robert Griffin III, All-American receiver Kendall Wright and Biletnikoff finalist Terrance Williams.
Baylor football has never been the same. The losing ended for the Bears in 2010 when they went 7-6, they've won 50 games in the last five seasons and the Big 12 recruiting standings currently show Baylor at the top of the league.
But for every Briles, there's a Turner Gill, a Charlie Weis, a Ron Prince and a list of others tasked with rebuilding downtrodden programs and cast aside a few years later when their missions failed.
Gill signed the 55th-ranked class in 2010, but never made it past his second year at Kansas. Weis replaced him and brought in a 2012 group ranked 75th by Rivals. He, too, didn't survive long enough to see his first class graduate.
Neither did Prince at Kansas State. After replacing Bill Snyder, Prince pried four-star quarterback Josh Freeman away from Nebraska as the cornerstone of a 30-player class that was ranked 43rd. But on-field success didn't follow. The Wildcats went 17-20 in three seasons before Snyder returned to replace Prince.
The last time Iowa State made a coaching change, Paul Rhoads reeled in a 25-player class in 2009 headlined by four-star junior college receiver Darius Reynolds. Two of the best finds in the 74th-ranked class were linebackers A.J. Klein and Jake Knott, who helped the Cyclones make three bowl appearances in four seasons before reaching the NFL.
So what should we expect from Campbell's first class?
"Usually, the realistic expectation is you try to keep the class from falling apart and keep the kids you've got committed and you bring some guys over from the new coach's last recruiting class and then you try to fill in the spots and hope you hit on some sleepers late in the class," Scout.com Midwest analyst Allen Trieu said. "Usually, when there's a coaching change, that's typically how you go.
"They're on pace to exceed expectations here. They started off by flipping some Toledo commits, keeping their class intact and then going after some guys who maybe were a little more difficult to get."
In Campbell's first two months on the job, the Cyclones have soared more than 30 spots in the Rivals recruiting rankings for 2016. Iowa State sat at No. 52 Monday night when the clock struck midnight, not far behind conference counterparts Texas and Oklahoma State.
How did Iowa State get to this point after a season of coaching uncertainty followed by a staff change and an overhaul of its 2016 recruiting class?
"Some teams turn around (after a coaching change) and tear it up," Rivals.com Midwest analyst Josh Helmholdt said. "When coaches come from the Mid-American Conference, it really seems they get pumped up on adrenaline and go after some big-name guys and have some success with that, guys that maybe they couldn't get at their previous school but now that they have a Power 5 logo on their shirt they have a better chance."
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The Iowa State class is a mixture of prospects who committed to the previous regime, some who had planned to play for Campbell's staff at Toledo and others who surfaced on the Cyclone radar in recent weeks.
Iowa State had 11 commits when the school fired Rhoads. Five are still part of Campbell's class. Defensive back Jatairis Grant, receiver Jalen Martin and defensive end Eyioma Uwazurike had been committed to Campbell at Toledo before switching their pledges to the Cyclones.
Iowa State was first in line to reach out to four-star offensive lineman Sean Foster after he parted ways with Minnesota, and the Cyclones pounced on defensive back Romelo Webster, who had been committed to Cincinnati.
"To come in in December and try to build an entire class on top of what was not a very strong class to begin with, it's not going to be easy," Helmholdt said.
"Obviously, this staff had a lot of relationships with prospects throughout the Midwest because of their time at Toledo and they're utilizing that. Certainly, they've grabbed some guys who had been committed to them at Toledo. They've been able to effectively leverage relationships they already had and build a class. I think they've still got room to grow. I'm looking at them adding a couple more key pieces here before national signing day."
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