There’s another battle that Iowa and Iowa State’s football programs fight each year. This one takes place not on the gridiron, but off of it, in the small towns and big cities in Iowa. This is the battle for recruits.

Both the Hawkeyes and Cyclones rely on massive amounts of in-state talent to fill their rosters in hopes of success. This season is no exception.

Of the 117 players on the Hawkeyes’ roster at the beginning of the season, 49 are from Iowa, comprising the largest amount of players from one state on the team.

Of the 106 players on the Cyclones’ roster (as of last week’s game), 49 are from Iowa, comprising nearly fifty percent of the squad.

Bob Carskie, Iowa State’s director of football operations, coordinates the Cyclones’ recruiting efforts. He said that when it comes to recruiting, the state of Iowa is top priority.

“When we first plan to recruit, it begins with the state of Iowa,” Carskie said. “Early scholarship offers and player evaluations are Iowa players.”

Carskie said that Iowa State’s recruiting begins with the “identification” process, which occurs during a player’s sophomore or junior year of high school. From there, the school puts its best foot forward to show the student athletes why Iowa State is the best choice.

“We invite junior players to a game here, and then we also have junior day, where juniors are invited to an ISU basketball game,” Carskie said. “And this year, we had over 200 recruits and guests at the spring game, which is impressive.”

In May, ISU will go out and actively recruit players, Carskie said. And again, Iowa is the foundation.

“Seven coaches go out in the state of Iowa, and then we hit the rest of the Midwest, Florida, Texas and California,” Carskie said.

What about the pressure to keep the top in-state talent at home? Carskie said that the vast majority of Iowa athletes will most likely stay in state.

“Most Iowa kids will stay in state. If they leave Iowa, they’ll stay in the Midwest,” Carskie said. “The majority stay in state or go to a bordering school. Most Iowa kids make their decision by September [of their senior year].”

One of the Iowa-grown Cyclones is freshman tight end Mike Banks, currently starting for the Cyclones.

Banks said he was originally recruited by Iowa but came to Iowa State after Iowa decided not to bring him in. Since then, Banks said he’s never looked back and has enjoyed his time at ISU.

“They recruited me, and then they dropped me,” Banks said. “Iowa State stuck with me, and I love it here. I couldn’t be happier here. I was given a great opportunity to come in here and start as a true sophomore, so I couldn’t be happier with all the things that have happened to me.”

Perhaps a big bargaining chip in bringing homestate players to ISU could be last season’s 27-9 victory over the Hawkeyes in Iowa City.

After 15 consecutive defeats at the hands of the Hawkeyes, the Cyclones pulled off the victory last year. Both teams finished the season 3-8, though Iowa was considered the more talented of the two teams.

And with Iowa State’s record at 1-0 and Iowa’s at 0-1 going into this weekend’s game, could there be a swing in power for football supremacy in Iowa and for in-state recruits? Senior linebacker Dave Brcka said last season’s win could help sway possible recruits in the direction of the Cyclones.

“Obviously, it has its effects. I think that recruits in this state looked at our program and saw that maybe this is the program that’s on the way up,” Brcka said.

Carskie said that a swing in talent from Iowa and other top schools to ISU is evident in recent recruiting classes.

“When Coach Mac came, the first big recruit to say no to Iowa and yes to Iowa State was Bill Marsau,” Carskie said. “After him, [Ryan] Harklau, [Dustin] Avey and [Kevin] DeRonde all made the same choice. Casey Shelton was a national recruit and he chose us over the University of Nebraska and Kansas State.”

Nevertheless, student athletes making a decision on a college must also weigh other factors into their decision — most importantly, academics.

Carskie said Iowa State offers student athletes the complete package.

“It’s a great campus, great school and great academic environment,” Carskie said. “This is a comfortable, safe environment and has the highest graduation rate in the Big12. The athletic department is committed [to the student athletes] and, for football, the opportunity exists to play early.”

However, no matter how much recruiting is done off the field, Banks said that the battle for in-state recruits begins and ends on it.

“You have to look at it this way: They had the upper hand in recruiting for the last 15 years, and now that we beat them last year, kids are starting to think ‘Do I want to be a Cyclone or do I want to be a Hawkeye?'” Banks said. “We gotta go out and prove it to them again that they want to be a Cyclone.”