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Iowa State University Athletics
Iowa State Corrals Top-40 Recruiting Class
02.01.2017 | Football
AMES, Iowa – Iowa State head football coach Matt Campbell's success on the recruiting trail was affirmed again this afternoon, as the Cyclones unveiled the future of the program on National Signing Day by adding 26 newcomers to their roster.
"The biggest thing we did was address the consistent philosophy of our program," Campbell said. "We recruited great character kids and young men who have a great passion for football. The overall body of work in this class continues to represent that. We are continuing to lay the foundation of this program and I am excited to bring in guys who know how to win, who come from winning programs and who have high expectations for themselves."
For the second-straight season, Iowa State corralled one of its best recruiting classes in school history, earning a national team ranking of No. 40 by Rivals, the highest by the recruiting service since 2004. Campbell's class also received a 247Sports composite rating score of .8427, the highest composite ranking (averaging player rankings in all four rating services) since 2007 when the service began rating classes.
Five players in the class were rated as four-star recruits coming out of high school or junior college, including freshman wide receiver Josh Johnson, who earned four stars from ESPN.
Iowa State also proved successful in luring some of the top players within its state borders. The Cyclones inked six players from Iowa who are all ranked in the Rivals top-15 prospects in the state, including linebacker O'Rien Vance. The Cedar Rapids Washington product is a two-time Des Moines Register All-State Elite selection and ranked as the third-best prospect in the state according to Rivals.
"When you look at where recruiting starts for us, it starts right here in our home state," Campbell said. "We are fortunate to get guys who stand for the values this program represents. I am excited about that and those six guys have had a huge role as leaders in building this entire recruiting class."
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Players Mentioned
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