Recruiting Wars: Iowa State vs. Toledo

New Toledo head coach, Jason
Candle.

CAMPBELL VS. CANDLE -- THE WAR HAS BEGUN

By: Zach Harig -- December 2, 2015

After Iowa State prevailed to defeat Toledo, 37-30, in 2014, Toledo returned the favor with a 30-23 overtime victory against the Cyclones in 2015. In a rubber match of sorts, the two teams now get to battle it out on the recruiting trail. Yes, I'm trying to tell you that two schools that are nine hours apart, will compete in recruiting, and we all know why. Now that Matt Campbell is officially an Iowa State Cyclone, he is destroying his own legacy at The University of Toledo by stealing players he recruited away from his former school.

In the 2016 recruiting class, Toledo originally had 22 commits, that is before the Campbell departure. Almost immediately, Toledo received decommitments from cornerback Jatairis Grant of Akron, Ohio. The reason? Matt Campbell and the Cyclones came calling with an offer and an official visit, which will be taken on December 4 by Grant. When asked about Iowa State, Grant stated, "Coach Campbell hasn't told me much yet, I plan on seeing how it is when I get down there. I don't have a top three yet, Toledo and ISU are my only two."

New Toledo head coach, Jason Candle played with Matt
Campbell at Mount Union, now they're recruiting foes.

Aside from Grant, Toledo lost a commitment from Columbus, Ohio Athlete, Tyrece Speaight. Speaight, a three-star by several agencies, has been heating up on the recruiting trail and has received interest from several MAC schools as well as, wait for it, yes, Iowa State. After a December 1 decommitment, Speaight has since been tweeting a lot about Toledo, especially after today's hiring of Jason Candle as their head football coach. In fact, one current Toledo commit told me, "I'm 100% sure we will get Tyrece's commitment back." There is no word on an official visit or any offers from Iowa State for Speaight.

Another recruit who was highly considering Toledo and is still is to an extent, is Traver Vliem, a defensive end out of Midland, Texas. Vliem, a 6'3", 240-pound athletic freak coming off of the edge now holds 20 offers, but one of his favorites is Toledo. However, Matt Campbell and his staff are already working on perhaps swaying him to Ames. "Coach John Kuceyeski (part of Campbell's new Iowa State staff) called me and said I was on a short list of guys they'd be looking at and they'd have Campbell reach out to me in the next couple of days," Vliem stated. He also stated it's a possibility that he will take an official visit to Iowa State.

Matt Campbell and his staff at Iowa State
have officially began their recruiting efforts.

From there, we advance to Jalen Martin, perhaps the biggest commit for Toledo in the 2016 class. That is, until Martin was given something to consider. Matt Campbell extended an offer to Martin, a Harper Woods, Michigan product, just hours after being introduced as Iowa State's new head football coach. Now, Martin is expected to take an official visit to Ames, "sometime in the next few weeks," according to his father, Gregory, who also added that "Jason Candle is a great hire for the Rockets." The 6'3", 200-pound Martin is a strong handed and high IQ football player who is an underrated three-star in the class. Iowa State will strongly push for his services before signing day and don't be surprised if new Toledo head coach, Jason Candle can't convince him to stay in the Glass City.

Someone that Toledo is losing extreme ground on is three-star defensive end/outside linebacker, Jalen Cochran out of Canton, Michigan. Cochran, a 6'3", 235-pound beast, was strongly considering Toledo and called them, "my number one school," in early November before Matt Campbell's departure. After Campbell accepted the job in Ames, Cochran immediately received an offer from the Cyclones. Following that moment, Iowa State shot up Cochran's list and become his new number one, "I believe I'm having an in-home visit with Iowa State on Thursday," he added. As far as Toledo goes, "I think Jason Candle was a great hire for Toledo, but I don't really know him since he is an offensive guy and I can't really consider them until they hire a full staff." Ouch.

In the Class of 2017, looking ahead, Matt Campbell already took a leap. Iowa State received a commitment from 2017 quarterback, Devon Moore, a 6'4", 215-pound pro-style gun-slinger out of Waterloo, Iowa. Moore held three offers before committing from Toledo, Illinois State, and obviously, the Cylcones.

2016 Toledo tight end commit, Nate Swart is a
"True Rocket" and is devout to his commitment.

Despite losing several commits as of late, Toledo does have a solid core still committed. Three-star runningback, Shakif Seymour of Parma Heights, Ohio stated he's, "All in on Toledo." Aside from that, Pennsylvania product and Toledo commit at tight end, Nate Swart also stated, "Why commit when you know another offer will just make you decommit? I committed to Toledo months ago and nothing has changed, I'm going to school there in the fall."

As for as for Coach Jason Candle, he spoke at his press conference, and to myself, about his recruiting war with Coach Campbell: "Well we have to work diligently and get our plan together and make sure the kids that have made the decision to come to The University of Toledo still come to The University of Toledo. And we'll work really hard to do that. Ultimately, at the end of the day, you can't make decisions for kids, that's their prerogative and what they want to do. But our job is to present the information to why UT is a great fit for you and why you can be successful here, we're going to mold you to be a great young man and make sure you take your academics seriously and give you a chance to play great football and if that's what you want to do, I want you to be here. I'm not interested in guys that are coming here for other reasons other than the ones that are real," said Candle. He then joked that his first night of sleep may not come until July.

For new Toledo head coach, Jason Candle, it's a challenge to keep this recruiting class together, especially when he predecessor is now working against him. However, this was the wisest hire that Athletic Director, Mike O'Brien could have made for Toledo due to Candle's familiarity of the culture, tradition, and recruiting. Candle was one of Campbell's best recruiters on his staff and was actually voted one of the, "Best non-Power 5 recruiters" by Rivals a few years ago. Candle will be a tremendous recruiter and should do a great job keeping this class in tact for the most part.

You can view my interview with Coach Candle following his press conference by clicking HERE.

I'll keep you posted on the rest of the news via Twitter: @ToledoZach