Chizik on '08 Recruiting Class

Iowa State head coach Gene Chizik talks about his 2008 recruiting class position-by-position and talks about what his staff will be doing the balance of February:

Wide Receiver: “There was a big emphasis at wide receiver and we thought we brought in upgrade in speed. The biggest thing that we were looking for (at wide receiver) was to get some guys that can pick up big yards after they have caught the ball by running away from people or just plain making people miss. Speed and elusiveness were what we were trying to bring in and we felt like we scratched that itch.”

Offensive Line: “We were really trying to improve our athleticism. We wanted to get some tackles that down the road are going to be very athletic. We brought in an offensive lineman, Scott Haughton, who is a real big, physical and athletic offensive guard. We feel we brought in a get-to-know-them mental toughness in guys like Ethan Tuftee and all of the other guys. We just felt that athleticism and upgrading athletic ability was huge at that position. We really feel that we did that at the tight end position as well. We increased our size at tight end and our potential for tight ends to be athletic enough to catch the ball and move, but yet still being able to block and set an edge.”

Running Backs: “Obviously we wanted to go after some power guys that we felt that had a combination of speed and strength. We got Bo Williams and Jeremiah Schwartz and we think they both bring a little more speed and power to the backfield. We want a guy that can make you miss and we feel that we have done this.”

Quarterback: “We wanted to stay along the line of what we already have with a very athletic quarterback that can both run and throw the football. We feel that Jerome Tiller definitely brings that to the table. He has run a lot of zone and made reads in high school while being a runner and a thrower.”

Defensive Line: “We felt that we had to get some speed guys there. We signed a couple of outside guys and inside guys. Jake McDonough is obviously going to be a big, physical defensive end. He brings a whole new level of speed and athletic ability to the table.”

Linebacker: “We couldn't sign too many but we feel like we got two really good guys that have noses for the ball and are naturals at that position. We feel that both Ernest Ferguson and Kevin Hamlin can really run and have a good feel of how to play the linebacker position. They have played the position in high school so we won't have to teach them a new position once they get here.”

Corner: “In the secondary, we thought that cornerback was the place that we needed to improve. Obviously, we don't even have many corners on our roster, so we felt like we had to have a major upgrade there with speed and athletic ability. We have a good mixture of size and speed, and three guys (Ter'ran Benton, Leonard Johnson, and Judah Linder) that we really think are going to be good.”

Safety: “We only took one safety (Dustin Land) because we felt like corner was a little bit bigger of a need right now. We got a former high school quarterback, who we think is really smart and football savvy, and really upgrades our speed at that position as well.”

Kickers: “Field position and points are what you're looking for when you talk about kickers; being able to set your team up by kicking the ball into the end zone off of kickoffs, especially right now, with the ball being at the 30-yard line. We feel like Zach Guyer and Grant Mahoney both have the opportunity to possibly be the kickoff guy. When we come within that 30-yard range, we want to be able to come away with some points, for momentum swings and things of that nature. We think that both of these guys are going to be able to do that for us.”

Focus in February: “Right now, we're evaluating every part of our football team from last year: offense, defense, special teams and strength and conditioning. We're going back with a fine tooth comb and really examining what we did right, and what we did wrong. We are trying to better ourselves in every way from the ground up. Everybody's looking to coach better, say it better, and teach it better.

Players Mentioned

Zach Guyer

Kevin Hamlin

Scott Haughton

Leonard Johnson

Grant Mahoney

Jake McDonough

Jeremiah Schwartz

Jerome Tiller

Bo Williams

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