During a press conference about IU Coach Kevin Wilson’s new 6-year extension, there was an awful lot of talk about recruiting.
After all, that’s what Wilson said is the hardest part of the job. Recruiting without an extension can be even harder.
Now, Wilson said, he can talk to juniors and seniors in high school and tell them he has a contract extension that would last the player’s whole college career. No longer will he have a recruit saying that they love Wilson’s offense, but having to ask if they would even be able to play in it.
There was hardly any talk about the financials of his contract or the negotiation process. Wilson simply spoke in excess about how this contract enables the program to go from being competitive to being a winning team in the Big Ten East.
“The commitment by the administration gives us a great chance,” he said.
Maybe the best example of how important having a long contract can be to recruiting comes from Wilson’s first year at the helm in 2011.
He was asked Wednesday about finding success after going 1-11 that season. Wilson pointed out how that team was a product of the tough times that came years earlier.
The juniors and seniors of the 2011 class were being recruited when former IU Coach Terry Hoeppner was battling cancer and Bill Lynch was taking over as interim coach. It was more difficult for the staff to sell players on coming to an unstable situation, Wilson said, and the 2011 team was a product of those years.
Open recruiting starts back up Thursday, and the 6-year, $15.3 million extension comes just in time.
IU currently has 10 high school commits in the 2016 class and just one from Indiana — Central Catholic offensive lineman Coy Cronk.
“We get the rift of, ‘You don’t recruit your state,’” Wilson said. “I don’t think any school in the country can do for our state kids what our school can. When you’re the state institution and you’re blessed to be at a great institution and play Big Ten football, that’s hard to beat.”
Wilson said there are a lot of good players in Indiana, and he wants them. He added it’s best to recruit locally because the greatest thing is when parents and coaches are in the stands to watch games.
The 2015 class was one of the most skilled IU has had in his five years here, he said. His goal is to find more large bmand long bodies for the 2016 class.
Add in the departure of junior defensive lineman Darius Latham, and that goal may become more important. Wilson said they are looking for tight end, defensive end and outside linebacker body types.
Wilson often talks about recruiting bodies that will develop, and he thinks the bodies are getting there. He mentioned the three All-Americans in the past two years, having players declare early for the NFL Draft and having two 1,000 yard rushers this season as proof.
In five years under Wilson, the program has gone from 1-11 to playing close with top-10 teams.
“Now we are going to take it from, hopefully, a program that’s gotten to where it’s reasonably competitive and start making it reasonably more of a winning and consistent program,” Wilson said.
