Somebody told IU Coach Kevin Wilson this was his worst class since 2012. But Wilson doesn’t see this as a problem.
“Well, shoot, that was pretty good,” he said. “IU will take that a lot.”
The 2012 class had three All-Americans in Tevin Coleman, Jason Spriggs and Dan Feeney. It brought Nate Sudfeld, Nick Mangieri and many of the players who took IU to its first bowl game in eight years.
That class may not have been rated highly, but it included many of the biggest names in recent IU history.
“Look where ’12 started, look where they finished,” Wilson said.
So it isn’t all about ratings in Wilson’s eyes. He often talks about how IU is working toward recruiting longer and more athletic bodies. He said the 2016 class is another good body class.
The goal with this idea is not to recruit players whom scouting services deem the best, but to find people that have the frame to grow into better players.
That 2012 class wasn’t so highly rated, but it produced. Wilson said it comes down to the weight room, nutrition, academic support, coaching and the student doing the job.
“Recruiting is one phase of the deal,” he said. “The next deal is development.”
247sports ranked this class 11th in the Big Ten and 55th nationally.
The 2016 class was the result of a year in which Wilson didn’t have his contract extended until January. He said players sometimes wondered who would be their coaches if they committed to IU.
IU Director of Athletics Fred Glass called some recruits to ensure commitment to Wilson while the contract was still unfinished.
This class was more offense oriented with 14-of-21 commits expected to play on offense. Wilson said it is a result of focusing on defense the past few years and needing to regain numbers on offense for the future.
Wilson is now entering his sixth season as IU’s head football coach. One result of his tenure is learning what he wants and needs.
He said he noticed a few years ago IU was recruiting receivers who were too small. Now, he realizes he wants long, athletic bodies, like Akron, Ohio, athlete Jonah Morris.
He said the team used to trot out defensive backs standing as short as 5-foot-8 or 5-foot-9. Now, each member of the 2016 defensive back class is listed at 6-foot or taller. Largo, Florida, defensive back Brandon Drayton is 6-foot-2.
While it may be easy to say that the class suffered from the delay in Wilson’s contract renewal, he said he signed athletes he felt could work here. He wasn’t trying to sign recruits to fill his last two scholarships.
“These kids we added at the end were not stretches,” he said. “I’m telling you, I’m holding two right now and we walked away from some.”
As National Signing Day ends, Wilson’s upbeat and jovial demeanor for his class can only last so long. He said now it is time to worry about the 2017 class.
“If we don’t get those juniors on campus by March, it’s like you’re out of the game,” Wilson said.
