ISU football coach Dan McCarney signed 26 recruits Wednesday, a fairly high number for one signing period, but he was preaching quality instead of quantity.

“It’s not just numbers, it’s quality,” McCarney said. “These kids are special.”

One kicker, 13 offensive players and 14 defensive players were signed. McCarney said 15 recruits were involved in Iowa State’s summer football camps and 13 of them gave a verbal commitment to Iowa State before making an official visit to the university.

“There’s no doubt we upgraded our football team with this class,” McCarney said. “It’s a great bunch.”

McCarney also said going against several Big 12 teams with bigger players led him to put an emphasis on size as he recruited for this year’s class. Except for kicker Josh Griebahn, none of the players are under 6 feet tall and eight linemen tip the scales at more than 280 pounds. Offensive lineman Brandon Cook, a Garner native, leads the pack at 335 pounds.

McCarney said he’s excited about the possibilities with his new group.

“It’s going to be fun to see how they make the transition,” McCarney said. “I love this class.”

— Jeff Raasch