It’s been a little more than a week since Cody Hawkins was named Idaho State’s football coach. During his first week on the job Hawkins has combined a sense of urgency with a determined patience. He needs a coaching staff and players. But he’s not willing to rush either process at the cost of bringing in the wrong people.

Example one: The early signing period for high school and junior college recruits begins Wednesday. Last year, Charlie Ragle, who had been ISU’s coach for five days, announced five high school signings during the early recruiting period. Hawkins, meanwhile, doesn’t anticipate any signings later this week.

It’s not because he won’t ultimately honor the few commitments made to the previous coaching staff. But Hawkins wants to make sure both that the players coming in fit his culture, and that the recruit and his family have all the pertinent information they need to make a long-term commitment to Idaho State. That process takes time.

“I’m not a fan of people who offer guys the first time they talk,” Hawkins said during a recent phone conversation. “My process is different than most. I love to meet their mentors, talk to their parents, have them come to campus. I don’t want to take a commitment from someone who’s never been to Pocatello before. Because I don’t like to keep anything hidden. When we take a commitment, it’s like a marriage proposal. It’s something where we both have all the information needed and we both have confidence it will be a long-lasting, beneficial relationship for both of us.”

Monday began a three-week “dead period” when coaches can’t contact potential recruits. So while many Big Sky schools will be rolling out signing lists on Wednesday, Idaho State fans will have to wait until at least Feb. 1 for the announcement of new recruits – and Hawkins’ staff will have to wait until Jan. 12 to initiate contacts with new recruits, or to reacquaint themselves with current recruits. And Hawkins is okay with that.

“There’s been a lot of push – it’s been very exciting for me and other people, where kids are trying to get in the boat,” Hawkins said. “But I’ve said, ‘Hey, guys, it’s going to be best for everybody if we just take a deep breath and do it the right way.’ So even though we’ll miss out a little bit on the excitement on initial signing day, we’re going to make sure the kids we do sign are the right kids.”

That patience extends also to putting together a coaching staff. Hawkins has included members of the current coaching staff, some long-time associates from past lives, and some entirely new prospects in his search to fill out his staff. He’s not ready to announce any appointments yet, and he’s willing to allow some of his best candidates to take their time to weigh other offers they might have

“I think I’ve been pretty transparent with the guys who are involved, so I’m giving them some time to make the best decision for them,” Hawkins said. “If some guys are up for other gigs, I don’t want to try to shut them out, because they have different opportunities at different levels. I can tell you we’re talking to some great people and I’m excited about the options we have out there.”

Interestingly, Hawkins, who in all likelihood will be the de facto offensive coordinator, has offered current OC Taylor Mazzone a spot on his staff in some other capacity. “There’s definitely an option for him to stick around,” Hawkins said. “I think he’s a fantastic coach and we share similar networks.”

Hawkins said there is no hard and fast deadline to complete his staff, but he anticipates most of the jobs will be filled by the beginning of January. “There might be a straggler or two, but it should be 90% set by the new year,” he said.

Exactly how many players those new coaches will have to bring in depends a lot on how many current Bengals decide to stick around under the new coaching regime. At one point, at least 16 ISU players reported they were in the transfer portal. Hawkins says he doesn’t know exactly how many remain in the portal, but he has reached out to some and he’s confident many will eventually be back in Pocatello next season.

“I always want to do what’s best for the kid,” Hawkins said. “I’m not going to try talking anybody into staying. If they want to go, they have their reasons and I’m always going to be for the kids, even when we recruit kids. If a kid comes and plays for the Bengals and wants to go play for a bigger school, if that’s best for him, then so be it.

“My hope,” he continued, “is that weg create an environment where the kids feel like they’re having so much fun, and they’re so fulfilled and so tied to the community, that they don’t want to leave. But the reality is that (transfers) will happen over time.”

One recruiting priority for Hawkins and his new staff will be at quarterback, where the Bengals’ original starter last year, Tyler Vander Waal, has announced he is in the portal.

“Quarterback is always a priority,” Hawkins said. “We’re going to bring in multiple quarterbacks, even if those guys (Vander Waal) stay here. Because it’s like the NFL, if you’re bad at quarterback, it’s tough to win football games…. I’m excited to develop that room, infuse some talent and experience in that room. But there’s enough talent in the room to win. We’ve just gotta make sure we keep pushing and find the right guy at quarterback every single year — that’s our priority.”

Despite the transfers, ISU returns part-time starter Hunter Hays and Rigby redshirt freshman Keegan Thompson, among others, at quarterback. Hawkins hasn’t been able to see either Hays or Thompson throw live since his hiring, but he’s watched them on tape. So far a lack of consistency is what stands out to him.

“I’ve seen them on tape and they’ve done some good things,” Hawkins said. “But it’s not about doing good things periodically, it’s about being consistent. If you do something consistently well, we can adapt the offense and build it around what you do well. Our kid (at UC-Davis) Miles Hastings, he made different throws than the guy who started two years prior, and we had to adapt the offense to fit his skill set.

“Everybody’s going to have a fresh slate,” Hawkins continued. “I know they’re excited and I’m excited to work with them… We’re going to bring in a couple of guys to push them, and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure we develop a great culture in that room. That will set the pace for how that football team prepares and plays.”

Hawkins plans to focus his recruiting in southern Idaho and northern Utah, and then expand into metro areas in the west – places where you can get fairly uncomplicated flights to Pocatello or Idaho Falls.

“…I think successful staffs have to take an honest look at themselves, who you are and what’s your recruiting reach,” Hawkins said. “So I think for me that has to start in southern Idaho… If you’re talking to (recruits) in the Treasure Valley, we’re the closest school to them outside Boise State. There’s a great opportunity to take a lot of great football players from the valley, and all the strong programs in eastern Idaho…. There’s been a lot of good football in eastern Idaho for a long time. So we’ve gotta do a great job in southern Idaho and northern Utah – that’s where you start.”

They’ll add in the Portland and Seattle metro areas, Sacramento and Orange County, California. “If you can show kids they can fly there and their parents can get to games, regardless of where you’re at, it’s just going to be a little bit more appealing,” Hawkins said.

Idaho State has tougher academic recruiting standards than many other Big Sky schools, Hawkins said, particularly in that ISU won’t take so-called “prop kids” – recruits who can’t meet initial NCAA eligibility standards, but sit out as academic redshirts for a year. That doesn’t bother Hawkins, though, who had to deal with probably the most stringent recruiting standards in the Big Sky at UC-Davis. The Aggies are only allowed a total of six out-of-state players on scholarship at any give time, and any out of state players have to have at least a 3.5 GPA.

“Idaho State… does have tougher standards than some other programs in the Big Sky,” Hawkins acknowledged. “But that shouldn’t be a hindrance because of the type of kids we’re recruiting. Ninety-eight percent of the time, they should meet those requirements if we’re recruiting the right kids.”

Hawkins prefers to focus on high school recruits, first and foremost, because they provide a foundation and the longest-lasting relationship with the program and the community. He’s open to adding junior college players for special needs. He is not a big fan of transfer portal players, although he won’t rule out certain transfer players.

“Players always leave for a reason, and I want to make sure we bring in the right kid,” Hawkins said. “JC kids kind of have that hunger to keep going, whereas transfer portal kids, they’re already experiencing some form of discontent – whether they’re over it, or sick of football, don’t like where they’re at, or don’t like the people. Everybody has different reasons. But I think high school is the best, JC should be used as a supplement, and the transfer portal is sort of for special exceptions.”

Brad Bugger has been observer of athletics in eastern Idaho for over 40 years as a sportswriter, broadcaster and fan. He can be reached with comments, questions and column suggestions at bpbugger@gmail.com