A Closer Look at Recruiting | BISON Media Blog

Signing Day is Wednesday and while we won’t know how this class will stack up for a couple of years; hindsight is a good thing to look back at the last 4 recruiting classes; in my opinion when NDSU changed it’s recruiting philosophy(that was after the first year in the Missouri Valley that saw the Bison go 6-5; you can make the case that 2010 is when things really blew up; but just roll with me here.)

2009 – Signed 21 Players

3 From North Dakota ( Drevlow, Grothmann, Jemison)
8 From Minnesota; 4 From Wisconsin
3 Fullbacks, 3 Wide Receivers
Standouts of Class (Drevlow, Jensen, Jirik, Ojuri, Perry and Williams)
Grade: A

2010 – Signed 25 Players

4 From North Dakota (Beck, Gefroh, Smith, Thorton)
7 From Minnesota; 3 Wisconsin, 3 Nebraska
8 Linebackers signed in Class
Standouts of Class (Beck, Smith, Littlejohn, Turner, Olson, Heagle, Emanuel, Dudzik)
Grade: A++

2011 – Signed 27 Players

2 From North Dakota (Okland and Wentz)
5 From Minnesota; 2 From Wisconsin, 4 From Arizona, 3 from Illinois and 2 from Iowa and Kansas
Standouts of Class (LeCompte, Okland and Haeg)
Grade: Incomplete (Too many players haven’t seen yet)

2012 – Signed 18 Players

3 From North Dakota (Lechler, Plankers and Stumpf)
4 From Minnesota; 3 From Nebraska, 3 Arizona, 2 Kansas
Zach Johnson only true freshman to play in 2012
Players to watch in Spring FB (Plankers, Stumpf, Amaechi and Gray)
Grade: TBD

Totals From Different States:

Minnesota: 24 (2 in ’13 class)
North Dakota: 12
Wisconsin: 9 (6 in ’13 class)
Arizona: 7
Nebraska: 6 (2 in ’13 class)
Kansas: 4
Iowa: 2

Biggest thing I take from this is that North Dakota has the 2nd highest amount of players; I remember when I first arrived here that there were skeptics that you couldnt get a lot of Division 1 athletes from this state; but the Bison are finding them, look no further than Ryan Smith and Travis Beck; two stars on each side of the ball. The other interesting note is the geography of recruiting; switching from Texas to now Arizona, Nebraska, Kansas and this recruiting class with Florida. Still biggest question to be answered; how much did winning the national championship affect recruiting? We can see that NDSU is getting players with FBS offers, but is the talent there? Our first results of that litmus test will be answered this spring.

24 thoughts on “A Closer Look at Recruiting”

Are we forgetting about South Dakota in Class of 2010? Mike Hardie and Trevor Gebhart have made a big impact…..

What’s happened to the ” Minnesota ” pipeline ? Only two recruits for 2013. Is Jerry Kill’s focus on Minnesota PWO”s going to bite into the kids available there? He has a big class of PWO’s coming in for 2013. Most had FCS offers.

MarkyMark on February 4, 2013 at 11:58 am said:

As or today NDSU has 3 scholarship kids from MN and 3 PWO’s for 2013. MN only has 1 kid from MN with a scholarship and 5 PWO’s.

MN is down a little bit this year for Div. 1 Prospects.
- Chad on February 5, 2013 at 5:18 am said:
  
  I heard on the radio yesterday saying that Kill hasn’t recruited that many players from Minnesota this year either.
gabe11 on February 4, 2013 at 2:35 pm said:

We’re down a few but it is common knowledge that Wisconsin is loaded with talent this year and Minnesota is light. But Kill has snagged a few players that may have gone to FCS teams. Not enough to make a big difference.

But overall this year and last year look amazing. The key is retaining the players, something that has worked well in 2009-2010

For 2011 can’t forget Colville and Moody may not be a star but he was the only member of that class to play as a true freshman who is still with the team

Sean on February 4, 2013 at 10:58 am said:

Also, Derek Lee and Andrew Bonnet for 2011.
- BigFan on February 5, 2013 at 11:56 am said:
  
  Colville, for sure. He made the FCS All Freshman Team.

Jemison should be listed as a standout player from that 2009 class. Grothman is also a standout player from the 2009 class.

BisonJeff on February 4, 2013 at 1:29 pm said:

I agree MarkyMark, Brandon Jemison was as good a linebacker as the Bison had at the end of his sophmore year. Then he got hurt that changed everything.If he was healthy he would still be starting. I think the 2013 glass really looks good. I know it is just potential now but I have faith in coach Bohl’s recruiting. Go Bison!
- Bison on February 4, 2013 at 9:28 pm said:
  
  Jemison changed his plea on the indecent exposure charge to plead guilty. Even if he was healthy he would not be on the team.
  - BisonJeff on February 5, 2013 at 10:49 am said:
    
    True Bison you are right.

Biggest positive from the 2009 and 2010 classes were the low attrition rates. The attrition rate for the 2011 class is already very high, not as bad as 2008, but bad. Attrition for 2012 is also higher than you would like for a class that has been on campus less than a year. There have already been players lost from the 2012 class, which is way too early. So, I have to agree with Gabe, retention is very important for classes to be rated really high.

The Natty’s are helping out bigtime. We are now going into Florida and taking their best players away from the top colleges there. Would not have happened three years ago.

Correction on February 5, 2013 at 10:03 am said:

What planet do you post from?
BisonJeff on February 5, 2013 at 10:52 am said:

Bison03 we are taking players from the state of Florida and taking thier best players from Florida, Florida State, Miami and South Florida? Dude where do you get this stuff? Go Bison!
- Bison03 on February 5, 2013 at 3:42 pm said:
  
  Guy was the #31 rated recruit out of Florida according to Bisonville.

Great post Dom. I’m glad that you have an interest in stuff like this, unlike that other guy (*cough* Kolpack *cough*)

- On your thought about ND’s division I players: what comes first, the chicken or the egg? In other words, if NDSU signs anyone from the state of ND – that makes that player a DI player. Or do you think that the players is a division I player first and NDSU just recognizes them when available? I see it both ways. NDSU (Bohl) has had a history of sometimes signing players that don’t have a lot of other interest from what I could call comparable FCS programs (like this guy with interest from Coastal and Albany….neither of which are close to the same level as NDSU program wise).

- As another poster mentioned, why leave out South Dakota – especially if you’re going to include Nebraska and Iowa? NDSU has and will continue to pull a few players out of SD every year.

- Some of the players NDSU has signed from Nebraska have turned out to be great FCS players. I hope that continues and NDSU signs 3-5 from the Cornhusker state every year. I’d love to get that same commitment to Iowa, but for some reason that is the most lightly recruited state in the upper midwest since Bohl has been coaching here. Any idea why he avoids that state so much?

- The most, utterly critical thing that NDSU **CAN NOT** lose sight of: remember who got them to this point – Minnesota, Wisconsin and Dakota players!!! Don’t ever, ever, *EVER* get infected with the disease of “We’re DI now, so that means we have to recruit players from FL, TX and CA”. That’s horse you know what. Give me 100% players from the upper midwest and I’ll be just fine and dandy. If they haven’t experienced snow and below freezing temps, odds are they’re not going to stick around Fargo unless they play right away. That’s a fact you can look up – how many Texas high school players have left the team since Bohl started? It’s pretty bad. That’s why this new Florida kid does nothing for me. Nothing. Doesn’t get me excited one bit. Guys like Heagle and Dudzik get me excited: proven talent from the upper midwest! Just as fast as the southern boys and double tough!!

Marcus Brantley and Chuks Amaechi booted off the team! Let’s hope this isn’t just the tip of the iceberg! Go Bison!

Slim on February 5, 2013 at 12:22 pm said:

what did they get kicked off for ???
OldGuy on February 5, 2013 at 12:26 pm said:

This is really bad news for the 2012 class, and attrition. Brantley was the SS of the future and Amaechi was a DE off the edge. Bad deal.

I don’t know what they did to get booted…….but I think we can safely say they did not falsify any constitutional amendment ballots.

Jeez…hate to say I told you so and maybe these rumors are false, but if they are true: I told you so. Case number ump-teen of a non-region player given a scholarship somehow making his way off the team before contributing.

And yes obviously this happens to regional players too …but much higher percentage to non-region.

Also need to consider the players from ND that have been offered scholarships but have chosen to play elsewhere (believe there was a kid from Williston that went to Nebraska) or have chosen to not play CFB (Johs from Bismarck). Can’t be blamed for trying and not getting these ND kids.

Watcher on February 4, 2013 at 9:46 am said:

Are we forgetting about South Dakota in Class of 2010? Mike Hardie and Trevor Gebhart have made a big impact…..
mgfan56 on February 4, 2013 at 10:27 am said:

What’s happened to the ” Minnesota ” pipeline ? Only two recruits for 2013. Is Jerry Kill’s focus on Minnesota PWO”s going to bite into the kids available there? He has a big class of PWO’s coming in for 2013. Most had FCS offers.
- MarkyMark on February 4, 2013 at 11:58 am said:
  
  As or today NDSU has 3 scholarship kids from MN and 3 PWO’s for 2013. MN only has 1 kid from MN with a scholarship and 5 PWO’s.
  
  MN is down a little bit this year for Div. 1 Prospects.
  - Chad on February 5, 2013 at 5:18 am said:
    
    I heard on the radio yesterday saying that Kill hasn’t recruited that many players from Minnesota this year either.
- gabe11 on February 4, 2013 at 2:35 pm said:
  
  We’re down a few but it is common knowledge that Wisconsin is loaded with talent this year and Minnesota is light. But Kill has snagged a few players that may have gone to FCS teams. Not enough to make a big difference.
  
  But overall this year and last year look amazing. The key is retaining the players, something that has worked well in 2009-2010
Sean on February 4, 2013 at 10:54 am said:

For 2011 can’t forget Colville and Moody may not be a star but he was the only member of that class to play as a true freshman who is still with the team
- Sean on February 4, 2013 at 10:58 am said:
  
  Also, Derek Lee and Andrew Bonnet for 2011.
  - BigFan on February 5, 2013 at 11:56 am said:
    
    Colville, for sure. He made the FCS All Freshman Team.
MarkyMark on February 4, 2013 at 12:01 pm said:

Jemison should be listed as a standout player from that 2009 class. Grothman is also a standout player from the 2009 class.
- BisonJeff on February 4, 2013 at 1:29 pm said:
  
  I agree MarkyMark, Brandon Jemison was as good a linebacker as the Bison had at the end of his sophmore year. Then he got hurt that changed everything.If he was healthy he would still be starting. I think the 2013 glass really looks good. I know it is just potential now but I have faith in coach Bohl’s recruiting. Go Bison!
  - Bison on February 4, 2013 at 9:28 pm said:
    
    Jemison changed his plea on the indecent exposure charge to plead guilty. Even if he was healthy he would not be on the team.
    - BisonJeff on February 5, 2013 at 10:49 am said:
      
      True Bison you are right.
OldGuy on February 4, 2013 at 6:19 pm said:

Biggest positive from the 2009 and 2010 classes were the low attrition rates. The attrition rate for the 2011 class is already very high, not as bad as 2008, but bad. Attrition for 2012 is also higher than you would like for a class that has been on campus less than a year. There have already been players lost from the 2012 class, which is way too early. So, I have to agree with Gabe, retention is very important for classes to be rated really high.
Bison03 on February 5, 2013 at 3:44 am said:

The Natty’s are helping out bigtime. We are now going into Florida and taking their best players away from the top colleges there. Would not have happened three years ago.
- Correction on February 5, 2013 at 10:03 am said:
  
  What planet do you post from?
- BisonJeff on February 5, 2013 at 10:52 am said:
  
  Bison03 we are taking players from the state of Florida and taking thier best players from Florida, Florida State, Miami and South Florida? Dude where do you get this stuff? Go Bison!
  - Bison03 on February 5, 2013 at 3:42 pm said:
    
    Guy was the #31 rated recruit out of Florida according to Bisonville.
Thoughts on February 5, 2013 at 12:05 pm said:

Great post Dom. I’m glad that you have an interest in stuff like this, unlike that other guy (*cough* Kolpack *cough*)

- On your thought about ND’s division I players: what comes first, the chicken or the egg? In other words, if NDSU signs anyone from the state of ND – that makes that player a DI player. Or do you think that the players is a division I player first and NDSU just recognizes them when available? I see it both ways. NDSU (Bohl) has had a history of sometimes signing players that don’t have a lot of other interest from what I could call comparable FCS programs (like this guy with interest from Coastal and Albany….neither of which are close to the same level as NDSU program wise).

- As another poster mentioned, why leave out South Dakota – especially if you’re going to include Nebraska and Iowa? NDSU has and will continue to pull a few players out of SD every year.

- Some of the players NDSU has signed from Nebraska have turned out to be great FCS players. I hope that continues and NDSU signs 3-5 from the Cornhusker state every year. I’d love to get that same commitment to Iowa, but for some reason that is the most lightly recruited state in the upper midwest since Bohl has been coaching here. Any idea why he avoids that state so much?

- The most, utterly critical thing that NDSU **CAN NOT** lose sight of: remember who got them to this point – Minnesota, Wisconsin and Dakota players!!! Don’t ever, ever, *EVER* get infected with the disease of “We’re DI now, so that means we have to recruit players from FL, TX and CA”. That’s horse you know what. Give me 100% players from the upper midwest and I’ll be just fine and dandy. If they haven’t experienced snow and below freezing temps, odds are they’re not going to stick around Fargo unless they play right away. That’s a fact you can look up – how many Texas high school players have left the team since Bohl started? It’s pretty bad. That’s why this new Florida kid does nothing for me. Nothing. Doesn’t get me excited one bit. Guys like Heagle and Dudzik get me excited: proven talent from the upper midwest! Just as fast as the southern boys and double tough!!
BisonJeff on February 5, 2013 at 12:12 pm said:

Marcus Brantley and Chuks Amaechi booted off the team! Let’s hope this isn’t just the tip of the iceberg! Go Bison!
- Slim on February 5, 2013 at 12:22 pm said:
  
  what did they get kicked off for ???
- OldGuy on February 5, 2013 at 12:26 pm said:
  
  This is really bad news for the 2012 class, and attrition. Brantley was the SS of the future and Amaechi was a DE off the edge. Bad deal.
Juan on February 5, 2013 at 12:42 pm said:

I don’t know what they did to get booted…….but I think we can safely say they did not falsify any constitutional amendment ballots.
Thoughts on February 5, 2013 at 9:26 pm said:

Jeez…hate to say I told you so and maybe these rumors are false, but if they are true: I told you so. Case number ump-teen of a non-region player given a scholarship somehow making his way off the team before contributing.

And yes obviously this happens to regional players too …but much higher percentage to non-region.
Graham on February 6, 2013 at 11:30 am said:

Also need to consider the players from ND that have been offered scholarships but have chosen to play elsewhere (believe there was a kid from Williston that went to Nebraska) or have chosen to not play CFB (Johs from Bismarck). Can’t be blamed for trying and not getting these ND kids.