Still the most mind boggling thing about last year, and I doubt it will ever be replicated.@myteamisonthefloor good sentiment, but not reality with HS recruiting yet. What did someone say, with Mayfields commitment our class now ranks 28th? We’re still finding our place within HS recruiting.
Kinda. But then again, we're the National Champions. All these other programs with their highly ranked HS recruiting classes couldn't beat us last year.
For the first two years of Cig most IU fans were talking about how recruit rankings/stars don't matter. I don't think we need to flip to worrying too much about high school class rankings. To be clear, I'm not saying we shouldn't worry at all. There are legit positives and negatives to discuss.
I'll be most interested in Cig's view on this HS class when it's all said and done. I'm not sure how much he'll say, but at the end of the day he knows better than 24/7 or On3.
I sound like a kool-aid sipper... I just can't ignore what happened last season.
exactly. let's not forget this.....
cig took a bunch of guys with low or no stars and made them into 5*'s when they left.
and.....won a B1G title, NCAA Championship, Perfect 16-0, countless awards etc.
the internet and college football world is full of "analysts" who have huge biases and/or don't know sh!t. (eg: finebaum)
every one of these HS studs who haven't played a down are ridiculously overpaid. show it on the field then we'll talk
@myteamisonthefloor good sentiment, but not reality with HS recruiting yet. What did someone say, with Mayfields commitment our class now ranks 28th? We’re still finding our place within HS recruiting.
Kinda. But then again, we're the National Champions. All these other programs with their highly ranked HS recruiting classes couldn't beat us last year.
For the first two years of Cig most IU fans were talking about how recruit rankings/stars don't matter. I don't think we need to flip to worrying too much about high school class rankings. To be clear, I'm not saying we shouldn't worry at all. There are legit positives and negatives to discuss.
I'll be most interested in Cig's view on this HS class when it's all said and done. I'm not sure how much he'll say, but at the end of the day he knows better than 24/7 or On3.
I sound like a kool-aid sipper... I just can't ignore what happened last season.
exactly. let's not forget this.....
cig took a bunch of guys with low or no stars and made them into 5*'s when they left.
and.....won a B1G title, NCAA Championship, Perfect 16-0, countless awards etc.
the internet and college football world is full of "analysts" who have huge biases and/or don't know sh!t. (eg: finebaum)
every one of these HS studs who haven't played a down are ridiculously overpaid. show it on the field then we'll talk
Cig and staff are great at player development but they are also great at scouting. Many of our players were just missed by scouting sites.
Hard to see how we have much of a chance if NIL is the kid’s #1 priority and Alabama and Texas really do want him. I think this recruitment is probably over. It may not have been a good fit anyway. Seems like he has a chip on his shoulder about IU. I recall someone on here early on who claimed to be in the know posting that Sales had these delusional ideas about Omar Cooper being mistreated somehow based on how he perceived post-game interviews. Didn’t sit well with me at all…
@jj_mcclure he wouldn’t have been to all those unofficial visits to IU if any of that were true. He’s following through with the process he and his camp laid out all along. IU is in the mix and close to the top of his list.
It's best to remember recruits are not master strategists.
They are paying agents 10-15% to promote them, and chart a course that maximizes current and future earnings while minimizing risk to their continued upward trajectory.
Sales posted a picture of his visit to IU after his visit to Texas. So take that for what it's worth. Just because it may come down to NIL doesn't mean that nothing else matters to him.
The last 3 story posts on his IG have been IU, including Mason Bomba and the Brackney commitment.
@d-b-cooper this! Plus, I can tell you that I will feel much better about our odds of hanging on should he commit due to the fact that he didn’t abbreviate his process. I don’t need a guy to commit early, but just make sure he sticks when he does!
@jj_mcclure No one in the know seems to think it’s over and anyone who has made a pick has picked IU. I’m pretty sure Cooper doesn’t have any kind of a grudge against IU , so I can’t imagine Sales does.
@zeke4ahs Seems like I do remember some kind of story, post or concern about this early last year, but don't remember details. Think its long gone in the rearview mirror however. I don't think Cooper has too many gripes after an undefeated season, NC and 1st rd draft pick.
@zeke4ahs Seems like I do remember some kind of story, post or concern about this early last year, but don't remember details. Think its long gone in the rearview mirror however. I don't think Cooper has too many gripes after an undefeated season, NC and 1st rd draft pick.
This story about Cooper having a gripe is news to me. I mean, c'mon, what would he have to bitch about? How could things have worked out any better for him?
@unclemark - I agree. The closest thing to this is he said he would've transferred with everyone else after Toms last season at IU, if he wasn't injured. That was tied to the state of the program, and he said he was obviously happy he didn't leave. Most all of our top end talent went into the portal and for someone who had high hopes of going to the league, based on his lived experience at IU up to that point, wasn't looking great. Cig turned that all around and if it was a concern, I'm pretty sure Sales has talked to Cooper about it in person.
I look forward to the day when the recruiting process does not make me feel like my school is being manipulated instead of evaluated.
For most of my life, we were simply ignored because everybody thought our 100-year record was more important (and more discussed) than the current status - and our coaches had almost no chance to build competitive depth. Cig blew that up by bringing in a core of a team that could do their jobs on every play and teach teammates how to do that too - AT THE SAME TIME we could compete and pay fairly instead of try to compete with cheaters every recruiting season.
But at the end of the day, my eyes told me Cig Year 1 we can win with any player Cig and his staff bring in, and win BIG. Year 2 confirmed and expanded that faith.
In short, because I believe that, I don’t care if Jimmy Chitwood plays or not.
Strap up. 2026 is gonna be more “beautiful football.”