There has been one major topic the Daily’s sports section has failed to cover during the past few years: recruiting. That’s where CycloneNation.com and I come in.

Throughout this year, in special stories to the Daily, I will be writing two recruiting updates a month to keep students up to date on who the stars of tomorrow will be in ISU athletics. Of course, if you want to know more, pay for a subscription. We’ll gladly take your money.

Let’s get things started with the football class of 2007. The headliner of this class so far would have to be Phillip Bates, a 6-foot-2-inch, 195-pound quarterback out of Omaha, Neb. Bates has great genes – his father played tight end for Nebraska and also played in the NFL. He’s good on his feet, but he needs to work on his throwing accuracy. All in all, with Bates picking Iowa State over his father’s old team, I consider this three-star prospect a steal.

Another commitment I consider a steal at this point is Maurice Greer, a 5-foot-11-inch, 215-pound junior-college running back from Garden City Community College in Denver. Greer originally committed to Colorado two years ago and was one of the top-ranked backs in the country. After some academic problems and a coaching change, Greer finds himself heading to Ames, and he’ll see himself in the heart of a big-time running back competition when he gets here.

Entering the class of 2007, the offensive line was an obvious focal point for the coaching staff. As of now, they’ve gotten the commitment of one true offensive lineman in Grant Garner, a 6-foot-3-inch, 267-pound center from Mesquite, Texas.

Garner picked Iowa State over a slew of offers coming from Oklahoma State, Purdue, Mississippi State, Southern Methodist University and Tulsa.

Although intrastate rival Iowa has had the majority of the intrastate recruiting success this year, Iowa State has gotten three prospects who could do some damage at the next level. The first is Alex Sandvig, a 6-foot-1-inch, 175-pound receiver from Valley High School in Des Moines. Sandvig is the little brother of current Cyclone Zac Sandvig and luckily for ISU fans, has developed a great relationship with Bates. If Alex can get bigger, look for that combination in the future.

Another intrastate prospect committed to Iowa State is Fabian Brown, a 6-foot-3-inch, 225-pound linebacker from Roosevelt High School in Des Moines. Brown should be a project at this point in time.

He’s listed as a linebacker, but there’s a good chance that he’ll end up on the defensive line.

The final Iowa prospect in this year’s class is Will Eilert, a 6-foot-4-inch, 250-pound tight end from Grinnell. Eilert is another guy who has a good chance of switching positions. Many analysts think after adding some weight, he’ll be at offensive tackle.

The final member of the class of 2007 is Anthony Green, a 6-foot, 225-pound defensive lineman from Marshall High School in Missouri City, Texas. To show you how good Texas high school football is, Green has never started in a varsity game.

He’s never started, he’s entering his senior season and he’s already committed to a Big 12 team. That’s a lot of talent. Green picked Iowa State over Mississippi State, Michigan State and the University of Texas-El Paso.

Although Iowa State has only picked up seven commitments at this point, keep in mind that it’s still relatively early in the recruiting game.

A lot of the big hitters from Texas and Florida will take visits during the season and will make their decisions off those.

– Chris Williams is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Clarinda. He is the publisher of CycloneNation.com. You can also hear Williams on 1430 KASI every Sunday from 10 to midnight and watch him every week on Mediacom’s Cy-Hawk Talk: State of the Nations.