The ISU football team put the finishing touches on its 2006 recruiting class Tuesday with 30 recruits signing national letters of intent to play for the Cyclones.

The Cyclones signed 30 players from nine states, including seven from inside Iowa’s borders.

ISU coach Dan McCarney said the focus of this year’s class would be speed, and said he feels that need has been met.

“A new chapter of Iowa State football began today,” McCarney said. “There’s athleticism in this class, there’s speed and there’s numbers. We’ve signed a class of 30 great players. Their speed, athleticism and flexibility to play different positions are the things that stick out to me when I talk about this class.”

Although the Cyclones class may not be pulling large national recognition, McCarney points to the past performance of his recruits and the evaluations of his staff as recognition enough.

“I never pay much attention to how many stars are behind these guys’ names,” McCarney said. “Go back and see at signing day how many stars were behind Ellis Hobbs’ name or Nick Leaders’ name.

“What I care about is our evaluations of our recruits and their talent, integrity and character.”

Headlining Iowa State’s class is Ames High School’s Austen Arnaud. The quarterback has generated excitement from players and coaches alike, and McCarney said he reminds him of a current rising Cyclone.

“Arnaud reminds me a lot of Bret Meyer at this stage,” McCarney said. “He’s got a little more strength than Bret did at this point but he really reminds me of Bret. He’s classy, he’s a leader and he elevates the people around him.”

ISU quarterback coach Todd Fitch said he is just excited to get the chance to help develop an athlete of Arnaud’s caliber.

“The thing I really got excited about was his progress from his junior to senior year as a quarterback,” Fitch said. “His mechanics and arm strength are very good, and he made a lot of progress in those areas. He’s got a lot of the intangibles that could really help make him a great player.”

Both Fitch and McCarney said Arnaud has the potential to challenge for a spot on the two-deeps for fall practice.

“We’ll see once we get him in the grind how he handles it,” Fitch said. “The thing that takes the biggest toll on a guy like that is the mental aspect. We’ll put him on the fast track and see how much he can absorb.”

Iowa State welcomes back a familiar face in defensive lineman Collins Eboh. Eboh was on the team during 2004 before being declared academically ineligible.

Eboh spent the past year at North Iowa Area Community College and will rejoin the ISU team in the fall, for which McCarney expects him to compete for a starting job.

“To bring [Eboh] in with only two years left to play after already having been here, if he’s not challenging for No. 1 on the depth chart, then we’ve made a major mistake,” McCarney said. “But I don’t think this is a major mistake, and I expect him to be there challenging.”

Iowa State also has some familiar names joining the team. Linebacker Matt Leaders, brother of ISU senior defensive lineman Nick Leaders; defensive lineman Nate Frere, brother of ISU linebacker Nick Frere; and defensive back Devin McDowell, brother of ISU defensive back DeAndre Jackson, all signed Wednesday.

The new Cyclones get their first action when spring practice starts on March 22, and fans can see the recruits for the first time at the annual spring game to take place on April 15.