Matt Campbell made it to Iowa State long before he became the ISU football coach.
Years go he developed, along with ISU running backs coach Louis Ayeni, a blueprint of what he looked for when recruiting every position.
Ayeni brought the running back checklist – playmaking ability, character, reputation as a hard worker – with him when he left Toledo to join the Cyclone staff in 2014. Following it helped Ayeni identify ISU star running back Mike Warren.
“He’s the right fit,” Ayeni said in an early November interview.
It’s a thought-out, implemented plan to not only to land recruits, but to change a program.