Indiana Football Signing Day Recap: Reason for Hope, but Keep it in Perspective
By Edward Koton
With National Signing Day appropriately behind us, now is the time to look back at Indiana Football’s Class of 2016 and appreciate the steps in the right direction, while also considering the even bigger steps the Big Ten is taking as a whole.
When attempting to build a program, there is no better place to look than at recruiting. Of course as a Coach your expectations are on the football field, but in the unique scenario that Kevin Wilson is in, sometimes a recruiting victory can be just as important as an actual victory. Every game is crucial, but this Indiana program is all about building a future.
After 21 signings, this Indiana recruiting class finds itself to be ranked 55th in the country according to 247Sports, which is actually the lowest ranking in Kevin Wilson’s tenure. Now a simple man can look at that ranking and immediately draw criticism. After a 6-7 season and the school’s first bowl game since 2007, recruiting rankings should only improve right?
This is where it is important to not allow the national ranking to tell the narrative, but dive deeper into the intentions of this recruiting class as a whole.
This year was about riding momentum and looking for bigger and better talent. This year was a jumping point. Jumping from one set of talent to the next. In previous years, recruiting classes were about depth. Kevin Wilson was looking to bring in as many as he could to the program and that worked. He grabbed all the 3-stars he could find and just tried to establish himself.
This year, with the momentum flowing through this program, was the opportunity to strive for something more.
Indiana looked to bring in bigger talent from all over the country, and that means swinging for the fences and missing on more guys than not. That means a smaller recruiting class which is ok, especially since the last few recruiting classes had so much depth.
What mattered to this recruiting class in particular was the acknowledgment of Indiana as a national program.
If one were to look specifically at the talent Coach Wilson went after, you would quickly realize that IU did a lot of competing with other major schools in the SEC. Indiana looked to capture talent and sway them away from big time programs in the SEC and even the upper echelon of the Big Ten. For a majority of prospects, Indiana not only competed, but stuck around as an extremely viable option.
Indiana also found themselves looking for a lot of out-of-state talent. The ability to sell prospects from hotbeds such as Florida and Texas to come to a place like BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA is a big deal. It’s a big deal, and it’s finally appearing to be working.
These attempts in the end failed more than not, but still resulted in landing some major talent and spreading awareness for the Indiana program as a whole.
IU’s top talent Jonah Morris was swayed towards IU after committing to Michigan State.
Mackenzie Nworah is an offensive guard all the way from Texas that decommitted from Missouri and had offers from TCU and Texas A & M.
Grayson Stover and Brandon Drayton are both big time talents from Florida that both respectively decommitted from other more recognizable programs to come to IU.
Defensive tackle Jerome Johnson said no to an offer from his home school Ole Miss, and Georgia safety Marcelino Ball said no to West Virginia.
Now matter how talented these players turn out to be, just the mere concept of their commitments mean something to what Indiana is trying to build.
Indiana is building something, and planting the seeds, for what could become some incredible recruiting classes as long as the product on the field continues to improve. Another bowl game this season could result in a few less missed recruits across the country, and a program that could be so much better.
More from Hoosier State of Mind
- Indiana Basketball: Which teams have the Hoosiers never beaten?
- Indiana Basketball: Examining the All-Time Bob Knight Team
- BetMGM Indiana Promo: Get $1,000 Bonus on ANY BET This Weekend!
- 10 biggest Indiana basketball NBA Draft busts of all time
- Kent State vs. Indiana prediction and odds for NCAA Tournament First Round
With the decreased depth in this year’s class, IU still hauled in some major big impact guys that should see the field immediately. On average about 12 freshman tend to see playing time each year under Kevin Wilson. That’s just about half of most classes, but more than half this year.
Richard Lagow is a 6-6 JUCO quarterback from Texas that should be IU’s starting QB next season. (Talk about big impact)
Jayme Thompson is a JUCO safety that should see time in Tom Allen’s new secondary.
Kiante Enis was the seventh best player in the state of Indiana that Coach Wilson stole away from Michigan. Enis can play various positions, but don’t be surprised when he starts getting carries in the backfield with Jordan Howard’s departure.
Jonah Morris is the best player in this class and could potentially start at wide receiver at the kickoff of the season.
Coy Cronk is a 4-star offensive tackle from the state of Indiana that reminds the entire coaching staff of a young Dan Feeney. The man is huge coming in at 6-5, 275 pounds, as an 18 year old.
There are some undeniably crucial pieces in this recruiting class and that will only become more evident as time goes on.
With only six defensive recruits, it’s clear that most of Coach Wilson’s “swings and misses” came on that side of the ball, but he has stated that defense will be more of a recruiting focus next year, especially with new defensive coordinator Tom Allen.
There is reason to be hopeful if you’re a Hoosier, but there is also one big reason to be cautious.
The rich only seem to get richer
If Indiana’s recruiting is going to continue to improve like I said, IU needs to perform on the field. There is only one issue in that sentiment.
The Big Ten is really good.
Indiana had the 11th best recruiting class in the Big Ten for a reason. Yes, 55th in the nation also means 11th in the Big Ten.
Indiana has effectively separated from the bottom three schools in the conference (Purdue, Illinois, and New Jersey State School), but look at the top of the conference in recruiting.
According to 247Sports, Ohio State had the fourth best class in the country, Michigan had the fifth best (including the best player in the country), Penn State had the 19th and Michigan State had the 22nd.
It’s hard to compete with that.
The challenge ahead for Indiana is to continue to take it slow and to continue to improve on the field. This year’s class should help that process, and hopefully lead to even more fruitful returns later on.