IU impresses 2012 football recruits

One week after IU Coach Kevin Wilson’s inaugural season came to an end, eight players who might be involved in Wilson’s second season visited Bloomington.

Some, like Warren Central linebacker Jordan Wallace and wide receiver Kevin Davis, have verbally committed to IU. Others, like Riverside (Calif.) Community College defensive end Justin Rayside, are weighing their options.

The players toured facilities, from Memorial Stadium to the Student Recreational Sports Center to the Indiana Memorial Union.

Rayside, born and raised in California, said he was surprised by how much he liked the area.

“I thought it was going to be like some backdoor city out in the boondocks, but it’s a beautiful city,” Rayside said.

Wallace recalled the first time he visited Bloomington in June and said he was also impressed.

“I really wasn’t expecting to commit to IU that day,” Wallace said. “They weren’t even in my top five, and then after my visit, I was so impressed I committed that day.”

Rayside will continue to look at other schools. He said IU is at the top of his list, but he wants to be fair to other interested schools.

“I’m just looking to see if anyone can top what Indiana has,” Rayside said. “Their facilities are state-of-the-art, and Memorial Stadium is phenomenal.”

The defensive end, who totaled 45 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks this season, said he would be willing to come to a colder climate than California to play for a major program.

“I want to play football at a high level,” Rayside said. “The Big Ten is as big as it can get, really, especially being down there in Indiana with the Big Ten Championship, just seeing how much people of Indiana love football and how they follow their teams.”

Wallace and Davis, who are stepbrothers, both committed in the summer. Defensive Tackles Coach Mark Hagen began recruiting Wallace when he was a coach at Purdue and ended up recruiting both brothers to play at IU.

Since committing, Wallace and Davis have begun to bond with their respective position coaches and Wilson. Wallace said he likes Wilson’s attitude.

“He has a straightforward attitude, and he’s always going to be honest,” Wallace said. “A lot of head coaches, when you’re getting recruited, are not honest all the time.”
All three players said the team’s 1-11 record this season didn’t have an effect on their respective recruitments.

Rayside is familiar with coming to a school with a disappointing record and seeing a turnaround, he said.

“Before I came to Riverside, their football team went 1-9,” Rayside said. “I came in as a freshman on a team that had been losing for years, and my first year, we turned it around. We went 10-1. My second year, we were 11-0.”

Wallace and Davis said they were encouraged by the amount of young players playing time for the Hoosiers.

“I know the reason I came to IU in the first place is the IU potential,” Davis said. “I want to be a part of that.”