Iowa State doesn't get too many blue-chip football recruits, so when they get a commitment from one they have to fight hard to keep it. Hours after grabbing the national letter of intent from one of the most sought-after high school football players in the state, Allen Lazard, Iowa State football coach Paul Rhoads tossed jabs at a pair of teams that tried steering him away.
Rhoads talked up the future Cyclone and ripped schools trying to take him away.
“That’s Allen Lazard’s National Letter of Intent. Let me talk about Allen Lazard a little bit.
“He’s not going to a school in northern Indiana. Boy, they wasted a lot of time and money. He’s not going to another school in this state, who feverishly tried to call him about a half a dozen times in the last week.”
Rhoads isn't referring to Valparaiso and Northern Iowa. Those were shots directed at Notre Dame and Iowa for trying to steer Lazard away from Ames, Iowa.
“Much to the dismay of people in this room who wasted a lot of space and time challenging his words of commitment, he’s going right here to Iowa State University."
Lazard is considered the crown jewel of Rhoads’ class and has been the subject of constant questions regarding his commitment to Iowa State. Lazard continued to visit Notre Dame after he first committed to Iowa State more than a year ago.
I can understand Rhoads' apparent frustration but he should know that recruit poaching goes on all the time. It's all a part of college football and if a school like Iowa State gets a player of Lazard's ilk, Rhoads can expect the big boys to keep coming after them.
