So this doesn't mean squat, obviously, but regardless, sometimes I like to peek in the Rivals database and see where players were ranked coming out of high school. Just looking at what their national rank was (not position rank) and giving them an NR if they weren't ranked nationally (aka in Rivals' Top 150), here is where both teams' 8-man rotations stand (I'm not including Doucoure, who was NR anyway):
Young: National, 106
Mathis: National, 108
Harper, Jr: National, 136
Mulcahy: National, 139
Carter: Juco National, 12 (Per TOS)
McConnell: NR
Johnson: NR
Baker: NR
Wieskamp: National, 43
Garza: National, 111
Fredrick: NR
McCaffery: NR
Kriener: NR
Pemsl: NR
Evelyn: NR
Toussaint: NR
So granted this is just ONE B1G team, and again it means nothing in the grand scheme of things, PLUS Iowa has been hit by the injury bug so not every player is on this list, but still, I thought it was pretty interesting that, other than Wieskamp, who was VERY highly-ranked coming out of high school, technically-speaking, our roster is littered with more nationally-ranked players from their HS rankings. The national media likes to harp on the fact that we are doing this all with a collection of under-the-radar and under-recruited players, and to an extent they're right when you look at Baker, Myles and Caleb... but then again, Iowa is ALSO doing it with mostly a roster of NR kids (with NR being a player that isn't in Rivals' Top 150 of their HS class).
Young: National, 106
Mathis: National, 108
Harper, Jr: National, 136
Mulcahy: National, 139
Carter: Juco National, 12 (Per TOS)
McConnell: NR
Johnson: NR
Baker: NR
Wieskamp: National, 43
Garza: National, 111
Fredrick: NR
McCaffery: NR
Kriener: NR
Pemsl: NR
Evelyn: NR
Toussaint: NR
So granted this is just ONE B1G team, and again it means nothing in the grand scheme of things, PLUS Iowa has been hit by the injury bug so not every player is on this list, but still, I thought it was pretty interesting that, other than Wieskamp, who was VERY highly-ranked coming out of high school, technically-speaking, our roster is littered with more nationally-ranked players from their HS rankings. The national media likes to harp on the fact that we are doing this all with a collection of under-the-radar and under-recruited players, and to an extent they're right when you look at Baker, Myles and Caleb... but then again, Iowa is ALSO doing it with mostly a roster of NR kids (with NR being a player that isn't in Rivals' Top 150 of their HS class).