Over the past week, the Cyclones have picked up two commitments. The first is JUCO Safety Durrell Givens and the other is a JUCO Tight End, Ricky Howard. Both are out of Chaffey Community College in Rancho Cucamonga, CA., which is about an hour outside of Los Angeles. They both will have two years of eligibility.

Givens seems to be a heady guy, as he had 47 tackles and 4 Interceptions in the 2008 season. He's 6'0, 195 lbs, has a 4.5 40, a 36 inch vertical, and can bench 260 lbs. There's no doubt that he's an athlete. In the Big 12, you need to have DBs that can keep up with the athletic WRs in the league.

There is a lot less info about Howard out there. He caught 10 passes for 164 yards, including 2 TDs. He's 6'5, 255 lbs, and that's pretty much all I know. Often times the JUCO passing game is not going through the tight end. He's mainly an extra offensive linemen except in the redzone. Depending on his ability, I could see him being utilized differently at ISU than he may be in JUCO, but I don't exactly know. I just do not think we should be discouraged by the lack of stats on him, as he could have untapped potential where being in the right system would make him a productive player. He's big and tall. If he can block and has good hands, he could be very valuable.

Early on, you aren't necessarily filling spots with these kind of players, as they are not sexy. BUT I am all for guys who can help us win more ball games and I think you should be too. The last couple of years have been rough, and it will take a while to turn the program around. We have a lot of young players, and adding some JUCOs can help in the shorter term so some of these developing underclassmen can be ready in a few years from now.

My apologizes for the delayed update on this story, as being out of town with limited internet can be tough. ISU now has 4 commitments in the 2010 recruiting class, and I can't wait to see who else we sign!