Recruits Favoring New Schools
Bloomington, IN - A few years ago, if you asked high school football players where they wanted to play in college, most of them will name Florida, Texas, or USC as the top places to go. But since Anthony Thompson has taken over as Indiana's head coach, the tides have turned and now Indiana is the hot spot for recruits.
Last week, Thompson and his staff at Indiana University landed two top-notch recruits: Graham Carroll (5 star MLB) and Peter Holmes (4 star DT). This week, they add three more recruits to that list: Jonathan Peterson (5 star SS), Tyler Thomas (4 star ATH), and Nate Morgan (4 star HB).
Peterson, the 2nd rated Strong Safety according to Rivals.com--and the #7 recruit overall--picked Indiana because of the lack of depth at the position. "They are a winning program and they have no one to play Safety next year," he said after his decision. "I can go to Indiana, make an immediate impact on defense, and still play for one of the best teams in the nation." According to his father, Cal Peterson (he was an linebacker in the NFL during the 1970's and 80's), Jonathan hadn't even considered Indiana until he saw that there was no one was going to play his position next season. "If he couldn't be the clear-cut starter his freshman year, he wasn't going to go to that school," said Cal. "Do you know what his other choices were? Wabash, Western Kentucky, Michigan Tech, and North Texas. When Indiana came calling, he almost immediately committed to the Hoosiers." Whatever the reason, Peterson will certainly be a 4-year starter at Indiana starting next season.
The second recruit, Tyler Thomas, is the 10th rated Athlete according to Rivals.com and ESPN.com. In high school, he played quarterback, running back, wide receiver, corner back, and punter. "That's why I'm labeled as an 'athlete'," he said on Monday. "I can play almost any position, and I picked Indiana because the coaches will give me the freedom to place myself where I think I'll be the biggest asset to the team."
The final recruit was Nate Morgan, a four star half back from Dover, Delaware. Surprisingly, even though he was the 98th rated recruit (Rivals.com), he was the best half back in the nation this year. In fact, during last year's Under Armor All-American game, he ran for 218 yards on 16 carries and 3 touchdowns. He didn't get player of the game honors though. "I definitely got snubbed," he said, "but I think I can make up for it by being the future star of the Indiana football program."
Indiana has at least 10 or 15 recruits still interested in going there next fall, so it will be interesting to see how well Anthony Thompson does the rest of the season.