Unlikely Florida pipeline flowing for Iowa State

MOREIOWASTATE:CycloneReport.com

IowaStatedefensivetacklescoachShaneBurnhamknowsthecityofBradenton,Fla.,almostaswellashisownhometown.

ThatdemonstratesjusthowoftenBurnhamvisitspreppowerManateeHighSchoolaspartofhisrecruitingresponsibilities.Burnhamestimatesthatoverthelastthreeyears,hehasstoppedbyManateeeveryweekthatNCAArecruitingregulationsallowhimtobeontheroad.

"It'sgettingtoapointthatIhaveaprettygoodrelationshipwithmostoftheirstaff,"Burnhamsaid."They'llkindofjokewithmethattheycansetupacotformewhenI'matManatee.TheymakefunofmebecauseI'malwaysthere."

Burnham'sfrequentvisitstoManateearepayingmajordividends.

IowaState'srosteralreadyincludeswidereceiverQuentonBundrageanddefensivetackleQuintonPompey,three-starrecruitsfrom2011whoredshirtedlastseason.Three-starlinebackerDariusWhitejoinedIowaState'sManateecontingentbysigningwiththeCycloneslastmonth.

TheCyclonesalsohavemadeofferstodefensivetackleDerrickCallowayanddual-threatquarterbackCordSandberg,four-starrecruitswhowillbegintheirsenioryearsatManateethisfall.

"Italwayshelpstohaveateammateatthesameschoolasyou,"saidBundrage,whoroomswithPompey."Youfeelmorecomfortabletohavesomeoneyouknowpersonallywho'sthere.Whenyouhavesomebodyyoucantrust,itmakesalotofthingsbetter."

Itisn'tallthatunusualforanout-of-stateprogramtohavemultipleplayersfromthesameFloridahighschool.

WestVirginiawontheOrangeBowllastseasonwithfiveplayersfromMiramarHigh,includingstarquarterbackGenoSmithandstandoutreceiverStedmanBailey.WestVirginiaalsosignedthree-starreceiverDevonteMathisfromMiramarlastmonth.

Rivals.comFreshmanAll-AmericaquarterbackTeddyBridgewaterwasoneoffiveMiamiNorthwesternalumsonLouisville's2011roster.WesternMichiganhadsixplayersfromNorthMiamiBeachHighlastseason.

Butthoseconnectionsareeasiertoexplain.

[CycloneReport.com:IowaStateamongthoseafterfour-starWRAteman

]

WestVirginiahasthestarpowerthatcomesfromhavingwonthreeBCSgamesoverthelastsevenyears.LouisvillecoachCharlieStrongiswellknownintheSunshineStateafterservingasFlorida'sdefensivecoordinatorfrom2002-09.TheWesternMichigan-NorthMiamiBeachpipelinemayseemtoughertounderstandonthesurface,butWesternMichigancoachBillCubitisaformerFloridahighschoolcoachwhopreviouslyworkedasanassistantatFloridaandUCF.

Thenthere'sIowaState.

HeadcoachPaulRhoadshasneverplayedorcoachedataFloridaschool,yethisstaffhasestablishedafruitfulrelationshipwithoneofthestate'smostsuccessfulprepprograms.Manateefinished11thintheRivalsHigh100nationalrankingslastyearafterwinningitsfifthstatechampionshipundercoachJoeKinnan,whoownsacareerrecordof269-68.

THEMANATEE-IOWASTATECONNECTION

Here'salookatthethreeBradenton(Fla.)ManateealumsonIowaState'sroster.,includingacommentoneachfromthecoachwhorecruitedthem,CyclonesassistantShaneBurnham.

WIDERECEIVERQUENTONBUNDRAGE

Height:6-2

Weight:184

Class:Redshirtfreshman

Recruitingranking:Threestars

Notable:Bundragecaught70passesfor1,225yardsand15touchdownsasahighschoolsenior.Hecaught11touchdownpassesasajunior.Healsowasastatefinalistinthehighjumpasajunior.

Burnham'sTake:"Ican'ttellyouhowexcitedweareabouthim.Thekidiseverythingwethoughthe'dbe.TheguysfromManateetoldmefromthedayhecommitted,'Shane,youguysstoleonehere.Yougotagreatsteal.'It'strue.We'resoexcitedaboutQuentonBundrage,itwouldn'tsurprisemetoseehimstartthenextfouryears."

DEFENSIVETACKLEQUINTONPOMPEY

Height:6-3

Weight:303

Class:Redshirtfreshman

Recruitingranking:Threestars

Notable:Pompeycollected100tacklesand12sackshisjunioryearatManatee.Hefollowedthatupwith62tacklesand11sackshissenioryeardespitesufferingakneeinjurylateintheyear.PompeyspenthisfirstyearatIowaStaterecoveringfromkneesurgery.

Burnham'sTake:"Hegotuphereandwehadtogointhereandscopehiskneerightbeforecampevenstarted,rightbeforeheevengothiscareerstarted.Heredshirted.Sowehaven'tseenmuchoutofhimyet.We'llfindoutthisspring.Welovehisbodytype.He'sareallyenjoyablekid,butwehaven'treallygotanevaluationofhimyet."

LINEBACKERDARIUSWHITE

Height:6-1

Weight:230

Class:Truefreshman

Recruitingranking:Threestars

Notable:Whitewasafour-yearstarteratManateewhocollected341tacklesoverhislastthreeseasons.Heplayedthefinalfourgamesofhisseniorseasonwithatornlabrum.

Burnham'sTake:"WewerelookingforatrueMikelinebacker.We'regraduatingtwostartinglinebackersnextfall,andwewantedtobringsomeoneintokindofgroom....He'sabigkid.Andanotherthing,forallthesuccessthey'vehadatManatee,they'veonlyhadahandfulofguyswho'vestartedfromtheirfreshmanyearandbeenfour-yearstarters.Dariusfallsintothatgroup....He'sacaptainwithalltheintangiblestheytalkedaboutwithhim-theleadership,theworkethic."

TheCyclones'Manateerecruitsgenerallydidn'thaveMidwesttiesandrarelyhadbeenintemperaturesasfrigidaswhattheyencounteredontheirofficialvisitstoIowaState'sAmescampus.YetIowaStatestillhasmanagedtogetthreeplayersfromthatschooltosignwithacold-weatherprogramthathaswonmorethansevengamesinaseasonjustonce-a9-3campaignin2000-since1978.

HowhasIowaStatepulleditoff?ItstartswiththeBurnhams.

BurnhamisthesonofCyclonesdefensivecoordinatorWallyBurnham,whocametoIowaStatefromUSF.HegrewupinTallahassee,Fla.,whilehisfatherwasworkingonBobbyBowden'sstaffatFloridaState.

HistasksatIowaStateincluderecruitingthewesternpartofFlorida.HeknewthestatewellenoughtorealizethatwouldrequireplentyoftripstoManatee.

"You'vealreadygotplayerstherewhoknowhowtowin,"Burnhamsaid."Theyknowhowtowork.They'vegotagreatweightprogram.Joerunshisprogramlikeamajorcollege,thewaythey'reorganized.Whenyougetaplayerfromoutthere,whatwedohereisnotgoingtobeashock.It'snotgoingtoshockhissystemwhenhecomestoacollegeprogram,wheresomekidsinasmalltownorlesserprogram,theywon'tunderstandwhatthey'rewalkinginto."

Burnham'sconnectiontoManateebeganwhenheattemptedtorecruitAceSanders,afour-starreceiverintheClassof2010.SandersisthesonofManateeassistantcoachTracySanders,whohadplayedatFloridaStatewhenWallyBurnhamwasthere.

SandersendedupsigningwithSouthCarolina,buthisrecruitmentcausedBurnhamtogetquitefamiliarwithManatee'sprogram.That'showBurnhamgottoknowaboutManatee'spromisingunderclassmen,includingBundrageandPompey.

"Shanewasabletoconnectwithourkids,"Kinnansaid."He'sveryprofessional.HedottedhisI's,crossedhisT's,hunginthereanddevelopedagreatrapportwithourkids."

Still,gettingeitherplayertosignwithIowaStatewasnosurething.Attimes,IowaStateseemedlikealongshot.

"Oncewegotthemonaplane[toIowaState],therestkindoftookcareofitself,"Burnhamsaid."Butgettingthemonaplanewashard.UpuntillateNovemberorearlyDecember,Ididn'tthinkI'dgetavisitfromeitheroneofthosekids,butwewerejustpersistent."

BundragesaidhehadnevervisitedtheMidwestbeforemakinghisofficialvisit,buthesoonrealizedIowaStatewaswherehewantedtospendthenextfourtofiveyears.BurnhamandtherestofIowaState'sstaffwonoverthethree-starrecruitwhoalsohadreceivedoffersfromCincinnati,LouisvilleandUCFamongothers.

"Theywerereallyhonestwithmeandstraightforwardabouteverything,lettingmeknowaheadoftimewhatwasgoingtohappenifIcame,"saidBundrage,whobelievesthatredshirtinglastseasonwillpayoffforhiminthelongrun."Justknowingtheyweretellingthetruthabouteverythingreallyhelpedmydecision."

OncehecommittedtoIowaState,BundragestartedtorecruitManatee'sotherplayers.Butsomeofthemwantedtomaketheirowndecisions.

Forinstance,WhitesaidthefactIowaStatealreadyhadtwoManateealumsonitsrosterhadnoimpactonhisselectionprocess.HeultimatelychoseIowaStateforthesamereasonsthatbroughtBundragetoAmes.

WhitealsoestablishedabondwithBundrageandtheotherIowaStatecoaches.WhiteenjoyedhisofficialvisitsomuchthathestucktohisverbalcommitmentevenafterMiamimadealateoffer.

"Itwasacomfortablefeeling,"Whitesaid."Theyweren'treallyinmyfacetomakeadecision.Itwasafeelingyougetlikewhenyou'reinafamily.Theymadeitreallyeasy."

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BurnhamrecruitedsoeffectivelythatWhiteandBundragedidn'tevenworrymuchabouttheweatherthey'dencounteratIowaState.ThesecretapparentlyisfocusingontheAmessummersinsteadofthewinters.

"Youcan'thidethefactthatDecemberthroughFebruaryit'sgoingtobeaMidwestwinter,"Burnhamsaid."It'sgoingtosnow.It'sgoingtogetcold.It'sgoingtogetwindy.TheflipsideiswhenyouguysaredownthereinlateJune,JulyandAugustandcan'treallygooutsidewithoutbreakingasweat[inFlorida],outhereit'salotmoretemperate.Springandsummertrainingisalotmoreenjoyable[atIowaState]thanitisdownthereinFlorida."

AlthoughIowaState'sthreeManateerepresentativeshaven'tplayedasingledownyet,theyallhavebrightfutures.IowaStateisparticularlyhighonBundrage,whocaught70passesfor1,225yardsand15touchdownshissenioryearinhighschool.

"Itwouldn'tsurprisemetoseehimstartthenextfouryears,"Burnhamsaid.

[RivalsonYahoo!SportsRadio:IowaStatehoopscoachFredHoibergjoinsDavidNuno]

Pompeyrecorded23sacksoverhisfinaltwoyearsatManateebeforespendingthe2011seasonrecoveringfromkneesurgery.Whitewasafour-yearstarteratManateewhocertainlyhasplentyoftoughness.Whiteplayedthefinalfourgamesofhissenioryearwithatornlabrum,Kinnansaid.

IowaStatewouldlovetoaddManateeplayersnextyear,butthatcouldprovechallenging.CallowayandSandbergarefour-starrecruitswithamultitudeofoffersfromprogramsthathavewarmerweatherandstrongertraditions.

Thenagain,theyalsoarealreadyawareofIowaState'shistorywithManatee.IowaState'sManateealumswon'thesitatetotalkaboutalltheirpleasantexperiencesoncampus,mostnotablytheupsetofOklahomaStatelastfallthatpreventedtheCowboysfromplayingforthenationaltitle.

"IowaStateisoneoftheschoolsthatI'vebeentalkingtothelongest,soIknowthoseguysalittlebetterthantheonesatotherschools,"SandbergtoldCycloneReport.com."They'redefinitelystillinit."

EvenifCallowayandSandbergdon'tcheckoutIowaState,BurnhamundoubtedlywillcontinuetovisitManateeonaregularbasis.Manatee'straditionofcontendingforstatetitlesandchurningoutDivision-Iprospectsonanannualbasisfigurestocontinuenextseason.

"Onpaper,welookawfullygood,"Kinnansaid.

ItmightbetimetogetBurnhamoneofthosecots.

SteveMegargeeisthenationalcollegecolumnistforRivals.com.Hecanbereachedatsmegargee@rivals.com,andyoucanclickheretofollowhimonTwitter.

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