CITY » the conversation turns to recruiting

BATON ROUGE, La. -- LSU backup quarterback Danny Etling waved his arms to quiet the Tiger Stadium crowd -- and that was before hed done anything more than complete one first-down pass.Frustrated fans in Death Valley, who had booed LSUs offense on its first two possessions, were simply ready for a change. Etling gave them a measure of hope and likely secured himself a start when the No. 21 Tigers open Southeastern Conference play next week.Replacing struggling starter Brandon Harris on LSUs third possession, Etling opened with three straight scoring drives, and the Tigers pulled away for a 34-13 victory over Jacksonville State on Saturday night.I just think we have a nice team. I think we have a good team. They will rally around whoever tries to be the next man up. I think they did it for me tonight, Etling said.Etling completed six of his first eight passes for 100 yards, including a 46-yard scoring strike to tight end DeSean Smith to cap the quarterbacks first drive. Etling also had a 2 yard TD run.LSU coach Les Miles said Etlings night was not perfect by any means, but also said the transfer from Purdue absolutely put himself in the mix to start going forward.Miles might not have much choice, considering how anemic LSUs offense looks with Harris under center, not just against JSU (1-1), but also in a 16-14 upset against fifth-ranked Wisconsin a week earlier.LSU (1-1) opened the game with 12 total yards and no first downs on its first two offensive series before Miles made the QB change.The Tiger Stadium crowd came alive when Etling took the field for the first time. It was a full-on eruption when Etlings long scoring pass hit Smith in stride down the left sideline, giving LSU a 6-3 lead.It was a pretty cool feeling. It was pretty nice, especially since we were down at the time, Etling said. It was nice to put ourselves in a position to succeed.Etlings performance was not entirely unblemished. All six of his second-half passes were incomplete. He was intercepted by Reggie Hall on a long pass intended for Malachi Dupre in the end zone and later lost a fumble when he was sacked and stripped by Darius Jackson.DELAY OF GAMEKickoff was delayed nearly an hour because of lightning in the area.LEONARD-LESSLeonard Fournette did not play, getting the night off to rest his left ankle, which took a hard hit at the end of LSUs season opener. Miles has said Fournette is not seriously injured and sounded optimistic that hed be ready to play next weekend.Derrius Guice started for Fournette and rushed for 155 yards, including a 4-yard TD and a 44-yard run to set up another LSU score.SEEING WHITETreDavious the closed LSUs 27-point second quarter with a 60-yard punt return on which he retreated 20 yards to his own 20 before finding his way back up field for the score.I just had it in my head that either I was going to go for the touchdown or coach Miles was going to be mad at me, said White, who had an interception return for a score a week earlier.SLIPPERY SIGNAL CALLERDual-threat QB Eli Jenkins was once again productive for Jacksonville State, which entered the game ranked fifth nationally among teams in the NCAAs second-tier Football Championship. He passed for 248 yards, including a 76-yard scoring pass to Krenwick Sanders, and rushed for 82 yards.It goes back to Elis experience, JSU coach John Grass said. He really looks like a four-year starter.POLL IMPLICATIONSLSU might move up slightly in the Top25 , but the Tigers are expected to win easily against FCS teams.THE TAKEAWAYJacksonville State: Jenkins has the ability to put up big numbers on any defense, meaning his FCS-level opponents will have their hands full. Jenkins is easily on pace to eclipse the 10,000-yard mark in career total yards by the end of this season. He entered the game already holding the JSU record for total yards with 8,688.LSU: Barring an injury to Etling, Harris next snaps might come in mop-up duty. His numbers through his first two starts this season are 13 of 25 (52 percent) for 139 yards, one TD and two interceptions. He completed one of four passes for 8 yards against JSU.UP NEXTJacksonville State: The Gamecocks return home play Coastal Carolina -- an opponent in transition to the top tier FBS -- on Sept. 17.LSU: The Tigers open SEC play at home against Mississippi State on Sept. 17.---AP college football website: collegefootball.ap.org Wholesale Stitched Jerseys NFL . LUCIE, Fla. Cheap China NFL Jerseys . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. http://www.cheapjerseysforfree.com/ .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Wholesale China Jerseys .ca NBA Power Rankings, ahead of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. China Football Jerseys . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. AMES, Iowa -- Some 63 hours after Matt Campbell earned his first Big 12 victory at Iowa State, his Ford Explorer roars into the dark parking lot of the Bergstrom Football Complex.Campbell hardly slows off the gas, driving a straight line to the parking spot closest to the staff entrance of this four-year-old building detached from the northwest corner of Jack Trice Stadium.It is 5:15 a.m.He bounds from the silver metallic SUV into the 32-degree, mid-November air, paying no attention to the brilliant full moon above. Ten minutes later, Campbell sits in his second-floor office, peering at film of the Texas Tech defense.The 36-year-old father of four, who coached for four-plus seasons at Toledo before the Cyclones tabbed him a year ago, is eager to shed the label of youngest coach in the Power 5.I get it, Campbell says, looking up from his desk and the practice schedule under construction on paper, but age is irrelevant. When I was at Toledo, for a while I was the youngest coach in all college football. You just hoped that somebody recognized you for the work we were doing, what you were building, what kind of coach and program you were.Iowa State recognized more than a youthful exuberance in Campbell, tasking him with one of the most daunting jobs in the sport. The Cyclones have enjoyed one winning season in the past decade; the last time they won more than seven games was in 2000.Campbells Iowa State tenure began with a loss to FCS program Northern Iowa and started 0-6 in Big 12 play, despite leading Texas, Baylor and Oklahoma State in the second half. Iowa State came from behind in the fourth quarter to win 31-24 last week at Kansas -- a milestone, for sure, despite an opponent that has lost 19 straight league games.It was great to see our resolve, Campbell says. I definitely think it did something positive in our program. And now, can you do it again?The Cyclones celebrated the win with a Sunday meal of steak and shrimp, cake and ice cream. After defeats this year, they ate hamburgers and hot dogs.On Tuesday, Campbell granted access to ESPN.com for a look at the inner workings of a program in transition. Clearly, a conference win only strengthened the Cyclones resolve to continue to improve -- and to do it as quickly as possible.This morning represents a late start for Campbell. Three days a week, he shows up at 4:30 to run and lift a few weights.I think it keeps you sane, he says.Its a 12-minute drive for Campbell from the home he and his wife, Erica, built last spring and summer north of the Iowa State campus. They moved from temporary housing in July, five months after the birth of their second son, Rocco. The Campbell girls are 8 and 6; the boys are 3 and 9 months.Usually, they all attend practice on Wednesday.Matt nearly missed the latest birth, flying into Toledo, still exhausted from a harried recruiting season, less than an hour before Erica gave birth.She is an audiologist but stays home, for now, while Matt works crazy hours.Campbell left the office after 10 on Monday night, feeling a bit sick. And the coachs stomach has not fully recovered on this morning. He drinks no coffee. For energy, Campbell mixes water with Spark, a powdered multivitamin additive advertised to enhance mental focus.Campbell is the first of the coaches to arrive.As he gets settled in the office, itll be seven hours until Campbell eats a meal. Hes a creature of habit, sending director of football operations Greg Brabenec -- Skip as hes known in the office -- almost daily to the nearby West Street Deli for a serving of chicken salad.The first week I got here, somebody told us about it, Campbell says, and thats been our go-to spot ever since.After workouts, Campbell cleans up in the locker room. His office is equipped with a shower, which he says he has never used, inside a spacious restroom that holds his carry-on suitcase and an ISU golf bag, still covered in plastic wrap.At 6:30 aa.ddddddddddddm., he ducks into an in-progress meeting. Offensive coordinator Tom Manning, a holdover from Toledo like most of the ISU staff, sits at the head of the table. He controls the tape -- dissecting the Texas Tech defense -- and the mood in the room, which is decidedly low-key.The lights are dim as Mannings mellow and acoustic mix of songs plays over a wall-mounted speaker. Hes more eclectic than Campbell, whose playlist gets plenty of time, too, especially at night; it spans Kenny Rogers, John Prine, Justin Bieber, the Zac Brown Band and Justin Timberlake.We go all over the spectrum, Campbell says.The offensive meeting includes graduate assistant Taylor Mouser and quality control associate Joe Houston. Passing game coordinator Jim Hofher enters before 7 a.m..The coaches trade banter as they watch tape.I got home yesterday and the Christmas tree was up, Manning says, and its got lights built in.Manning sounds genuinely surprised by this before turning his eyes back to the Red Raiders, who visit Ames on Saturday with just one win -- an overtime victory at TCU in Week 9 -- in their past six games.Soon, the Iowa State coaches watch tape of Ohio State. With deep Ohio roots, the ISU staff regularly studies the Buckeyes, who run a system on offense similar to what Campbell installed in Ames.The Cyclones target Ohio heavily in recruiting. Campbell grew up in Massillon, south of Cleveland. In particular, Campbell says, hes enthralled by the heritage of Ohio natives Urban Meyer and Bob Stoops, and Nick Saban, whose career began in the state.Theyre huge role models, Campbell says, guys who have such laser vision and focus to sustain success, to recruit consistently and then to develop their guys and demand that they play at a high level.Curtis Samuel flashes on the screen. No one on the Iowa State roster resembles the Ohio State back.Is he an Ohio guy? asks a coach in the room.No. Another coach suggests that Samuel, a four-star signee in 2014, came from Florida. Actually, hes from Brooklyn, New York.Campbell moves into a special-teams meeting at 7 a.m. He sits at the head of the table, with associate head coach and running game coordinator Louis Ayeni to his right. Bryan Gasser, who coaches receivers and special teams, runs the meeting. Linebackers coach Tyson Veidt is also here.The head coach stays mostly quiet, speaking up when the subject turns to weather. The forecast is more typical November for Saturday in Ames -- cold and windy. The more wind, the better for Iowa State, the coaches suggest.Just before 8 a.m., the entire staff convenes in the same room for their daily rundown. The meeting starts with a medical report. They discuss Tuesday practice before the conversation turns to recruiting.This weekend is huge, says Campbell, with several official visits planned. One of the scheduled visitors, announces a coach, attended Iowas upset win Saturday night over Michigan. No one responds to this.By Campbells left sits Veidt, who is handing scraps of paper to a recruiting assistant as the coaches watch film of prospects under consideration for scholarship offers. Iowa State has accepted approximately 20 commitments for its 2017 class, so space is limited.They view film of a tenacious offensive lineman. Conversation ensues about his reputed height -- and the height of a basketball hoop on which Campbell saw the prospect dunk on video. It might have been 8 feet, suggests one coach.The point there, Campbell says after the staff meeting, is for everybody in that room to know exactly what were looking for.Before 9 a.m., Campbell exits his third meeting of the day. He stops quickly in his office before the next session to talk more offensive strategy.His stomach is feeling better. Chicken salad awaits in three hours.Another long day beckons. ' ' '