Gene Chizik is taking over as the new “CEO” of Cyclone football. So what does that mean for the 2007 recruiting class? As of now, it doesn’t appear that the class will take too much of a hit for one major reason.

For the majority of the commitments, they don’t have many more options. When Dan McCarney resigned before the Colorado game, Iowa State only had seven commitments in the already struggling class. The majority of those prospects were not marquee catches in the recruiting world, so regardless of what happens now, it won’t be too big of a hit come Signing Day.

The headliner in the class, Phillip Bates, a three-star quarterback from Omaha North in Omaha, Neb., is up in the air at this point. Bates visited Ohio last weekend, but he’s been consistent in saying that he loves Ames and wants to be a Cyclone. He just wants to speak with new head coach Gene Chizik before he makes his final decision. I’d put this one in the bank, but you never really know with high school kids.

McCarney’s staff had already picked up commitments from three Iowa prospects – wide receiver Alex Sandvig, tight end Will Eilert and defensive lineman Fabian Brown.

“I’m very excited about Coach Chizik, and you could really tell from when Jamie Pollard spoke that they are determined to take the program to the next level,” Sandvig told CycloneNation.com on Monday night.

Sandvig is a done deal, and so are the other two, in my opinion. In fact, Eilert seems more excited about his commitment with the new staff even though I know he had an incredible relationship with former ISU secondary coach Chris Ash. Why am I so confident that these prospects will stay committed? They don’t have many other places to go.

Iowa State did recently lose the commitment of junior college running back Jamicah Bass from El Camino Community College in California.

I’m going to be brutally honest now. At the rate it was going, Iowa State was on track to have the worst class in the conference for the second year in a row.

With Chizik’s recruiting ties in the Southeastern Conference, one could only expect a vast improvement in the next couple months. I’d expect him to go the junior college route, especially in the trenches.

In one quick basketball note, Iowa State recently picked up the commitment and signing of Charles Boozer, a 6-foot-3-inch swingman from Raleigh, N.C. Charles is the younger brother of NBA superstar Carlos Boozer, who plays for the Utah Jazz. Charles is currently playing prep ball, but sources have told me that his game has taken tremendous strides since high school a year ago and that he’ll be a solid Big 12 player.

Chris Williams is a senior in journalism and mass communication and is the publisher of CycloneNation.com. You can hear Williams on 1430 KASI from 10 a.m. to noon every Sunday. Also, you can watch him from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. every Thursday on Mediacom’s “Cy-Hawk Talk: State of the Nations.”