Signing Day: Focus shifts to 2017 at Iowa, Iowa State

If it seems like Iowa State football head coach Matt Campbell and his staff scrambled to complete their debut recruiting class, just wait until after National Signing Day.

Three days before faxes come in across college football and the Class of 2016 gets its finishing touches, eyes are already focused on the future.

It’s almost time for 2017 prospects to get full attention in Iowa.

“Part of the way this staff beat ‘Power 5’ schools at Toledo was by offering kids early,” said Scout.com’s Iowa State recruiting analyst Alex Halsted.

“They don’t just offer to offer, but they identify early and if they think they’re good, they’ll build that relationship before the recruiting cycle even begins for the next class.”

The hard work of assembling next season’s newcomers is already done.

Iowa State has junior days scheduled to coincide with all three Saturday home men’s basketball games in February, with dozens of prospects planning to attend. The young, spirited staff is believed to have already extended more than 50 offers to 2017 recruits.

That number will likely grow as underclassmen get on campus and are evaluated in the spring and summer.

“It sounds like in the future they’d like to by this point be able to use the post-dead period to focus on the next class,” Halsted said.

“If you look at what Iowa’s doing, they’ve been done really for quite some time. They’re already focused on the next class. Iowa State would like to do that with 2017.”

The wholesale forecasting is hardly limited to Ames.

Recruiting Take 5: Decision time for in-state prospects

Twenty members of the 2016 class were committed before July 2015. And the Hawkeyes have already made 2017 headlines by securing a commitment from one of the nation’s highest-ranked defensive ends, Edwardsville, Ill., junior A.J. Epenesa.

“You come off a big season like Iowa had last fall, and a strong season really affects the next class more than it does the current class,” Rivals.com Midwest recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt said. “You expect that momentum to be at its strongest with the 2017 group.”

Four other in-state athletes gave their commitments to coach Kirk Ferentz’s staff before the second semester of their junior year. Madrid’s Coy Kirkpatrick, North Fayette Valley’s Juan Harris, Mount Vernon’s Tristan Wirfs and Solon’s Jacob Coons are already on deck for their Signing Day, which is another 12 months away.

“Ten years ago, recruiting happened more in the fall and the winter heading into Signing Day,” Helmholdt said. “Now, they primary and most important recruiting period in terms of adding prospects to your commitment list is really in the spring.”

The state’s 2017 class is expected to be deeper with Division I talent than in 2016, too. Uncommitted prospects with multiple FBS offers include a herd of offensive linemen — Iowa City West’s Alex Kleinow, Bettendorf’s Mark Kallenberger, Ames’ Colin Newell and Spirit Lake’s Zach Dykstra — along with Valley quarterback Rocky Lombardi and Cedar Rapids Washington linebacker O’Rien Vance.

They’ve been shown interest with calls and invitations long before Signing Day.

“I think ISU will look a lot more in-state,” Halsted said. “They really tried to focus on 2017 with the ‘Big Monday’ basketball game against Oklahoma. They had 13 official visitors for 2016 and they were really going to start hitting the road, and they brought in some of their priority juniors. They had a mini-junior day on a day when they’re trying to hurry and finish 2016. It shows they already want to get going.”

Iowa built the bulk of its 2016 group after offering standouts at its summer camps. Iowa State and other Midwest schools would love to follow suit, taking care of the 2017 core after this spring’s evaluation period, which runs from April 15 to May 31.

That gives juniors just a few months to make up their minds following Wednesday’s whirlwind.

“An early commitment certainly allows guys to focus more on their development rather than trying to pick a school,” Helmholdt said. “However, because guys are committing so early, you’re seeing a lot more decommitments later in the process.

“Now, A.J. is not a strong candidate for that down the line. … He did get a chance to see a lot of the schools and go through the process.”

Waterloo West junior quarterback Devon Moore has already equaled the Cyclones’ in-state prep commitments from the 2016 class. Campbell and Co. should raise that number with a renewed Iowa approach.

That means watching the faxes come in Wednesday while looking ahead.