A rousing gathering

[Skippy]

I went to a social event ISU organized for new coach Mike Kramer last night and I must say, Mike was at the top of his game. He talked for about 20 minutes or so about his expectations, introduced the defensive coaches (the offensive guys were supervising weightlifting) and talked about his new recruits. He mentioned the new QB has a 3.6 GPA, Daniels, the new running back has a 3.75, three years of eligibility and scored 31 TDS in high school, and a DE (Austin Graves, I think?) who is transferring from Wazzu where he didn't play football last year, has a 4.0.

Mike introduced Quinton Freeman as the academic coordinator, and said ALL players are required at study table for an hour and a half every evening. He said ISU is down seven scholarships because of the APR sanctions and will likely lose two more because of continued slippage this fall. Clearly getting a grip on the APR situation is a high priority for him. He said as a result of being "shorthanded," he expects a lot of true freshmen and walk-ons to see the field next fall.

It was great to see Dave and Barbara Kragthorpe there, as well as a lot of long-time Bengal supporters I hadn't seen in awhile. Mike's talk was really motivating and I know ISU has plans to get him out across the state to take advantage of his ability to promote the program. He's going to be doing "signing day" gatherings around the state in February to kick things off. If his performance last night was any indication, he'll really energize the faithful.

 

[bengalcub]

In a situation like this, it is in Kramer’s best interest to solidify things academically. It is in ISU’s best interest.

That is a ton of scholarships to be in the negative on at this level. The bad thing—it is really going to hurt ISU this fall. The good thing—fixing it now and getting things right can put this whole APR thing in the rearview mirror. ISU will have learned from it and will know how to handle it better in the future. Fixing this is not the easiest thing in the world because you sometimes sacrifice athletic talent for academic stability.

I will maintain that the last four years under the previous regime cost ISU more than any other period in ISU football history.

Let the healing begin. Kramer will get it done--but it is going to take time.

 

[k toww]

my brother ran into Kramer at a new employee orientation at the university yesterday. he said the first thing Kramer mentioned about each recruit was GPA. Hopefully success and focus in the classroom will lead to the same results on the field.