13-23 was the combined record of the three Division 1 public schools in the state of Indiana. 13-23 with no bowl appearances. Purdue hasn’t bowled in 3 years, IU in 3, and BSU in 2 years. So how are programs turned around? Recruiting of course.
First lets take a look at the Hoosiers. IU rode 4 wins against non BCS conference teams, and a victory against Purdue to get to 5-7. They’ve made a coaching change, bringing in Kevin Wilson. There was some instant controversy involving recruiting. Athletic Director Fred Glass said all scholarships would be honored. Wilson then not much later pulled three scholarships. Those players were DL Donte Phillips, DL Shafer Johnson, and OL Jalen Schlachter. Most IU fans accepted the losses of Phillips and Johnson just fine, as they were more of MAC prospects that IU offered. Johnson ended up landing with CMU, and Phillips with Texas Tech. Schlachter on the other hand was a 3 star prospect who had offers from Wisconsin and Missouri along with IU. Mizzou and Wisconsin filled their classes, Schlachter was dropped, to the dismay of many IU fans, and chose BSU over a host of MAC offers that came in at the last second. IU also lost 4-star Ramon Taylor late in the game to Brady Hoke and the Michigan Wolverines. Now that we’ve caught you up, lets take a look at a couple of the best prospects for IU:
Zack Shaw – 4 Star 6’3 218 LB
Offers: IU, Akron, Ball State, Kent State, Toledo, West Virginia, Youngstown State
Despite not having huge offers, Rivals really likes Zack Shaw. Shaw was the division 4 player of the year in Ohio his senior year. According to ESPN he has the size and speed to be a linebacker at the major D1 level. Here’s some video: Zack Shaw
Jake Reed – 3 Star 6’3 221 TE
Offers: IU, Iowa, Louisville, Stanford
This may be IU’s best prospect. Reed, out of Columbus, IN had offers to two ranked teams this year. Reed is more of a blocking TE, but can contribute if needed in the blocking game. Here’s Reeds’ video Jake Reed
Tre Roberson – 3 Star 6’1 170 QB/WR
Offers: IU, Purdue, Toledo
It seems like there is an equal chance of Tre Roberson being the starting quarterback for the Hoosiers, as him not playing QB at all. Roberson was the Mr. Football in the state of Indiana last year. Roberson has extreme athletic ability, but whether he can throw the ball in the Big 10 is a big question mark. Here’s video of Roberson
Things were a bit rocky for Purdue as well. Purdue had just 4 wins, including close victories against BSU and Western Illinois, and a loss to Toledo. Purdue stirred up noise when they dropped the scholarship of AJ King in mid December. King was a WR with a slew of big time offers. Purdue offered him after he tore his ACL. King stayed loyal to Purdue, but during a visit to West Lafayette in December, Hope told him his offer is no longer good, saying he’s had to many players with ACL injuries and doesn’t want to take another risk. King lost his offers after he stayed loyal… similar to the IU players, and is now scrambling. Purdue is no longer allowed to recruit at the high school that King belongs to. Purdue also had their smallest class ever. Lets take a look at some key players:
Robert Kugler 3-star 6’3 235 DE/TE
Offers: PU, Boise, Col St, FAU, Stanford, Syracuse, West Virginia
It’s not quite clear if Kugler will play DE or TE in Danny Hopes system, but he doesn’t care. Kugler is a monster on both sides of the ball and is one of the most well-polished athletes in the class. Kugler drew offers from all over the nation, and is from Pennsylvania.
Akeem Hunt 3-star 5’10 177 RB
Offers: PU, Auburn, Minnesota, Mississippi, South Car, S. Florida, S. Miss, UAB, Wake, Wisconsin
Whenever you have an offer from the national champion, you’re a solid player. This may be Purdue’s best get. Hunt is very quick to the hole and has a lot of natural instinct to get him by. He has a good physical upside, and if he grows into his body, could be an elite Big 10 RB. Here’s some Akeem Hunt Video Akeem Hunt
Armstead Williams 3-star 6’3 205 LB
Offers: PU, Illinois, Iowa, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan, Syracuse
Armstead had offers from a slew of top Big 10 teams, but chose Purdue. Williams’ change of direction, instincts, and vision are why he was so highly touted. He still has some body to grow into, as 205 is a little undersized. He’s another solid PU recruit from Pennsylvania. Here’s some video Armstead Williams
The Ball State Cardinals are coming off a 4-8 season, which turned into them firing their head coach. BSU brought in Pete Lembo who had a ton of success in FCS at Elon. Lembo lost 6 recruits from Parrish’s class, most notably 3-star recruits C Kyle Lints, and DE Brian Baird. However, he was able to secure up some late commits. Lembo has a very good history recruiting the south, and constantly brought players to Elon that had D1 scholarships. BSU is still in on a couple recruits, including offering AJ King, the PU drop. Lets take a look at some of the Cardinals best recruits:
Jalen Schlachter 3-star 6’6 300 OT
Offers: BSU, IU, Wisconsin, Missouri, Ill St, EMU, Toledo
When IU beat out Wisconsin and Missouri for Schlachter, it seemed like one of their best gets. However, Wilson disagreed, dumping his scholarship. With Missouri and Wisconsin’s classes already full, Schlachter visited BSU and chose the Cardinals. Schlachter during his visit listed a beautiful campus, and the feel of a big time program in the MAC for his reasons for choosing BSU. There’s no free video on Schlachter… but there is this: Jalen Schlachter
Willie Snead 3-star 5’11 174 WR
Offers: BSU, WMU
Snead got the looks of a Big 10 prospect, but not the offers. Snead got strong looks from Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, MSU, among many others. Snead enrolled at BSU this semester, and is already doing workouts. One of the reasons for potential lack of interest in Willie is his position. After being a WR through his Jr. year, his team needed him to switch to QB. Here’s video of Snead, who is #17 as a DB, WR, and QB. Willie Snead.
Horactio Banks 2-star 5’9 170 RB
Offers: BSU, Buffalo, Memphis, North Dakota, Northern Illinois
Ball State has a couple other three-star players, but this two-star excites me more. Banks has run 4.35 and 4.40 40’s in different camps. He had offers to some solid schools including Memphis, and MAC Champ NIU. Ball State has done a great job of getting solid RBs. This very well could be the next one. Here’s some video of the speedy RB (note: name is spelled wrong on video, not here) Horactio Banks
If these three schools are able to turn it around, expect to see a lot of these nine names in the coming years.