For as much time, energy and focus that they put into it, the future of the Iowa State football program (at least on offense) may not be as dependent on out-of-state athletes from Texas, Florida or California as you'd think .
Often criticized for the lack of division-1 talent it produces, some of the more iconic players in the modern era of Iowa State football (which I'm defining as 2000-current...deal with it old timers), have come from within Iowa's borders. To be more specific, a large amount of the talent that's come through the Cyclone program in that time span has originated right in Iowa State's backyard from the Central Iowa Metropolitan League (the CIML is now defunct as Iowa's largest football class has since abolished conferences and moved to reorganized districts).