Wha'ppened?: A Decade of 4-Star Recruits

by The Mexican't on Jan 16, 2012 10:46 PM CST

During the AJ Derby twitter meltdown Vint shared this stat which left me curious. Patrick mentioned that he was going to expand on his tweet later this week, so I'll keep this general just to foster discussion.

Although Patrick's numbers date back only to 2004, Rivals offered commitment lists for the last decade, and I thought I'd use all of the lists that were available, resulting in five more 4-star recruits for a total of thirty-one since 2002. Six of the twenty-six players mentioned by Patrick are still on the roster and enrolled at Iowa. Of the additional five players, only Chris Felder -- an OL whose back couldn't hold up to the rigors of football any longer -- left the Iowa football team before graduating.

The list of recruits can be found here. I included the current group of verbal commitments at the bottom of the spreadsheet (not pictured) for no other reason than to give us something to smile about after seeing the departures listed. Feel free to correct anything that I got wrong in the comments below.

* - Five-star recruit

† - JUCO

** - Not accepted

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hopefully Coe comes back

and is moved to a FB/HB hybrid position, with Canzeri behind him so they become the Coe and Canzeri Connection.

"Your spelling and grammar errors belie a seriously skilled thought process"- therealCatnuts

by justsomehawkeyefan on Jan 16, 2012 10:52 PM CST reply actions

All things considered its actually not a bad job keeping the 4 stars

except for the last few years of course.

"Your spelling and grammar errors belie a seriously skilled thought process"- therealCatnuts

by justsomehawkeyefan on Jan 16, 2012 10:53 PM CST reply actions

Yes, it actually looks better when you aggregate it.

Though I’m stunned that only 1 early defection out of the 30+ was for the NFL

I spent half my life's earnings on wine, women & song. The other half I wasted.

by therealCatnuts on Jan 17, 2012 9:00 AM CST up reply actions

That is the strangest part of the list.

Of course, this is only the recruits with a rating of 4-stars or more. I believe the number jumps to 5-ish if lower ranked recruits are listed. Just off the top of my head, Greene, Spievey, and Reiff. I feel like I’m missing someone else.

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by The Mexican't on Jan 17, 2012 9:45 AM CST up reply actions

The only other one that jumps out at me is Sash.

But I feel like I’m missing an OL somewhere.

But "disappointing" is not a synonym for "crappy." - Jacob Peterson

"We are Iowans, for the most part if you tell us to do something we’ll do it. It’s not like we are from South Carolina." - Carfino'sWay

by 6 seconds of hell on Jan 17, 2012 11:33 AM CST up reply actions

Nah

pretty sure Reiff & Bulaga are the only 2 OL to leave early under Ferentz

"There are few things graven in stone, except that you have to squat or you're a pussy." -Mark Rippetoe

by Brock8144 on Jan 17, 2012 1:23 PM CST up reply actions

I thought Gallery left after four years but had a fifth year left.

or is that not what you’re talking about (or i’m full of poo)

meh

by tyger1147 on Jan 19, 2012 2:16 AM CST up reply actions

I didn't remember Kyle Williams

We really dodged a bullet there. I guess he was a hard-hitting LB who didn’t qualify academically, transferred to Purdue, had a bunch of drama about eligibility there, was ultimately able to play and tore it up for a little bit but then began to suffer recurring headaches that kept him out of games and limited his effectiveness…and then started brutally physically and sexually assaulting women on campus in pretty much broad daylight.

He’s in prison now, but I really hope he donates his brain to science when he dies. He could just be a psychopath and/or completely roided out, but given the headaches and the brazenness of his attacks it sure sounds like CTE to me. The more we learn, the more I think flag football is a pretty good game.

by Notclevr on Jan 17, 2012 9:13 AM CST reply actions

Yeah

There’s definitely some issues with Williams that should be looked into by TOP MEN.

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by mikjones24 on Jan 17, 2012 9:46 AM CST up reply actions

I'm gonna say it's probably the psychopath-yness.

Otherwise it sure seems like we should have a lot more acts of random violence occurring amongst football players at all levels.

"I’m not going to comment on anything beyond where I’ve been so far." - Gary Barta

by SomeJerkPoster on Jan 18, 2012 4:56 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs

meh, i think it's like with anything: things affect people differently

lifting weights makes some get super duper strong and some only a little stronger
eating broccoli prevents cancer in some, smoking causes it in others, and some can eat bacon and eggs with a pint of whiskey and a carton of cigarettes and live to 85
concussions cause some people to go “homicidal”, others suicidal, others to have academic indigestion

meh

by tyger1147 on Jan 19, 2012 2:20 AM CST up reply actions

As time goes on

I think we’re going to see that concussions, like many “injuries” (sun or chemical exposure, trauma, ect.) start earlier than we usually think of them. By the time a college football player has his first notable concussion he may have had several others in high school or younger (both football and non-football related), and possibly many mini-concussions that were never really noticed. And I also think that we’re going to see that their is a genetic factor as well, like you say, there’s a wide range of outcomes. Some people seem more prone or more resistant to them. We just don’t know enough yet.

"'Contrariwise,' continued Tweedledee, 'If it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic." - Lewis Caroll, Alice Through the Looking Glass

by chitownhawkeye on Jan 19, 2012 12:30 PM CST up reply actions