The Hawkeye Recruiting Class

So I’ve been spending most of my time lately on NFL Draft stuff, yes I’m in draft mode, but I still pay attention to Iowa Hawkeye recruiting pretty closely and I was hoping for an uplifting feeling after what has most certainly been a less than stellar year.  I was feeling really good after watching my beloved Patriots play win one of the best Super Bowl games I’ve ever seen.  This Hawkeye recruiting class brought me down a bit but I can always find the silver lining even when the Hawkeyes only out recruited Purdue in the Big Ten.  Yep, in a conference called the Big TEN Iowa had the 13th best recruiting class according to Rivals (other sites were slightly more generous ranking Iowa 12th).  Yes that means Indiana, Northwestern, Illinois and Rutgers all out did Iowa.  I don’t want this to turn into a Ferentz/Davis bashing post again (I think I’ve covered that) but I can’t promise not to throw out the occasional shot at either one of them or both.

The Good News (I’m trying to start off on a positive note)

The Offensive Line Recruits  (OC James Daniels, OT Levi Paulsen, OL Landan Paulsen, OL Brett Waechter and possibly OG Jacob Newborg)

The top recruit in the class is 4 star OC James Daniels the younger brother of Hawkeye RB LeShun Daniels from Ohio.  Daniels is arguably the best pure center in the country and Iowa beat out Ohio St. (his father’s alma mater and home state school) and Alabama (no seriously) for James.  Having his brother on board was certainly a selling point but the coaches did a great job on this one and Daniels may earn early playing time.  He graduated early from high school and enrolled at Iowa for this spring semester so he’s already adjusting to college, working out with the strength and conditioning staff and he’ll participate in spring practice.  Daniels is already 6’4 275 lbs. so by August he could easily be physically ready to play.  He’s a natural center after played it throughout high school so he doesn’t have to learn the nuances of the position.  Austin Blythe is slated to return to center after moving to guard last year but if Daniels can prove that he’s ready I won’t be the least bit shocked to see him lined up over the ball for the first snap in August.  It’s possible Daniels plays guard for a year to learn from Blythe but Daniels at center and Blythe at guard might be the better lineup.

Levi and Landan Paulsen are twin brothers from Woodbury Central High School in northwest Iowa and they may be the two most underrated players I’ve ever seen.  Levi is 6’6 275 lbs. and played LT while Landan is 6’6 285 lbs. and played LG on their high school team…I think anyway I keep getting them confused.  There is a chance they both end up at OT and I’m alright with this because Iowa is seriously lacking for OTs on the depth chart and having bookend twins on the line would be awesome, of course that will not help me in remembering which one is the LT and which is the RT.

Brett Waechter is another northwest Iowa kid (it’s a theme with the OL guys) and he is also already enrolled at Iowa like James Daniels but he won’t be seeing the field this next year.  Waechter has some growing to do as he is only about 265 lbs. and he is also having shoulder surgery that will keep him on the sidelines.  The good thing about Waechter is that at 6’5 he has the frame to bulk up and he could end up inside at OG or outside at OT so he offers some nice versatility down the line.

Jacob Newborg was the first commitment for the 2015 recruiting class about a year and a half ago.  He is from Inwood, IA (I wasn’t lying about the northwest Iowa thing) and he’s an impressive looking player.  He’s so impressive that it isn’t completely settled if he’s going to play offensive guard or defensive tackle and there may be a throw down between the offensive and defensive staffs over him before all is said and done.  If I were to venture a guess I would say he ends up at defensive tackle but only because Iowa has plenty of offensive guard prospects on the roster and they struck out on most of the defensive tackle recruits this cycle.  Newborg is a beast and his motor runs non-stop and he could be a devastating player on the interior of the defensive line.  At offensive guard he would bring a nasty attitude that this team could use much the same way Brandon Scherff has for the past few years.

The Wide Receivers (Jerminic Smith, Emmanuel Ogwo and Adrian Falconer)

The Hawkeyes may have actually found some playmakers in Smith, Ogwo and Falconer now it’s just a matter of using them.  If the majority of playing time next season at WR is taking up by Matt Vandeberg, Jacob Hillyer, Riley McCarron and Andrew Stone then we are all in for a long year.  Tevaun Smith needs to be the focal point in passing game and players like Andre Harris, Derrick Mitchell and Jay Scheel need to be given every opportunity to get on the field.  Usually when Ferentz plays a freshman WR it’s a bit of a surprise which one it is (it was Vandeberg two years ago) but I’ve watched quite a bit of film on these three and Jerminic Smith looks like a player to me.  Smith isn’t big at 6’1 180 lbs. but he is fast, fluid and confident on the field.  He has a swagger to him that most Iowa WRs don’t have and the Hawkeye offense could use some of that.  He is dangerous with the ball in hands whether it’s catching the deep throw or grabbing a screen pass and running after the catch.  There are a lot of Hawkeye fans who are sick of the WR screen pass but I’m only sick of watching it when it’s run to the slowest WR on the field.  Ogwo and Falconer might surprise us all and get some playing time but they both look like they could use a year to grow.  Ogwo is a track star so he would bring a nice dose of speed to the position.  I certainly applaud the coaching staff on getting WR recruits from Texas (Smith and Ogwo) and Florida (Falconer), gotta go where the playmakers are.

The Linebackers (Jack Hockaday, Angelo Garbutt, Justin Jinning and Nick Wilson)

The LB position was definitely one of need in this class and not because Iowa is going to lose so many guys to graduation but because the two upper classes are unbelievably thin.  Travis Perry and Cole Fisher are the only seniors and there are no juniors on the roster at all.  Considering Perry and Fisher were beaten out by completely inexperienced players like Josey Jewell and Bo Bower it was pretty obvious that the position needed a talent infusion.  Hockaday was the all-everything in high school playing multiple positions and seeming excelling at them all.  He played QB on offense and he basically was his team’s offense.  He needs to put on weight to play LB but he is a special kind of athlete and he’ll contribute on special teams right away and he may find some playing time early if he adjusts quickly to just playing LB.  Garbutt was the good surprise the day before signing day as he picked Iowa over an offer from Nebraska and he too is expected to contribute on special teams immediately.  He is slightly bigger so he may be physically ready quicker than any of these guys.  Justin Jinning is an underrated athlete and Iowa could use someone with his skills in coverage.  Nick Wilson was a late offer after the Hawkeyes missed on a few prospects they had ahead of him on their board.  Wilson played safety at Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines and while the Hawkeyes are expecting him to bulk up and play outside LB I’m not so sure he shouldn’t give safety a try first.  Iowa isn’t exactly stacked at the safety position and if Wilson could play strong safety he might be better off there.

The Quarterbacks (Ryan Boyle and Drew Cook)

The two most athletic QBs Iowa has taken since Brad Banks and there is a chance neither of them ends up a QB.  Many Iowa fans would tell me to bite my tongue saying that but it is a possibility in the long run.  I actually think Boyle sticks and Cook moves but that change might be two years away.  Boyle led Dowling Catholic to consecutive 4A state titles the last two years and he brings a confidence that reminds me of Drew Tate.  He isn’t a polished passer but he’s gotten better and he was actually the leading rusher on his high school team meaning he’s a true dual threat QB.  He isn’t a tall QB (generously listed 6’1) but he is a good athlete with a strong build and he could play safety if he moves to another position in the future.  Cook is a tall QB at 6’5 and yes he is the son of former Hawkeye great Marv Cook.  Marv was Drew’s high school coach at Iowa City Regina and they have won five straight state titles (Drew only QBed the last 3).  Drew is also very athletic and he has become a much better passer over the past two years.  From a scouting perspective Cook has some mechanical issues with his delivery and he will have major transition going from Iowa Class 1A football to major college football as a QB.  The obvious move for him is to play TE like his father and he’s a good athlete with a solid frame and I think he would be a very good TE.  One thing Iowa fans like to do is forget about the guys on the roster and expect one of these two to be the future at QB for Iowa.  The battle between CJ Beathard and Jake Rudock and the recruiting of two decorated Iowa high school QBs has made fans forget about last years QB recruit Tyler Wiegers.  If there is one thing standing in the way of either of these two playing QB at Iowa it isn’t each other, it’s Wiegers.

Good News Bad News

The Defensive Ends (Anthony Nelson, Brady Reiff and Michael Slater)

DE is a sore spot on the roster much like LB with the exception that Drew Ott and Nate Meier actually contribute as starters as opposed to the LB upperclassmen.  Senior Melvin Spears and junior Daumantas Venckus-Cucchiara are candidates to be asked to move on as they don’t contribute on the field and Iowa may need their scholarships.  The Hawkeyes desperately need contributions from redshirt freshmen Matt Nelson, Terrance Harris and Parker Hesse (Hesse converted from LB to DE in December).  It is possible although unlikely that the three true freshmen will contribute because they all need time to grow.  Anthony Nelson was a late flip from Iowa St. after Iowa finally offered him a scholarship and he could grow into a nice DE but at 6’6 and 210 lbs. he needs to seriously add weight.  Michael Slater is much bigger at 6’3 265 lbs. and he might get a chance if he can pass up any of the redshirt freshmen.  Brady Reiff (yep Riley’s little brother) is also undersized at 6’4 215 lbs. but he is the third early enrollee for the Hawkeyes so if he can add some weight he will have some actual practice time in the spring and might be able to contribute this season but I wouldn’t count on it.  The good news is that the Hawkeyes have done a nice job of getting some DE prospects in the last two classes, the bad news is they need them to make a difference right now and these aren’t really immediate impact guys.

More Good New Bad News

The good news is that the Hawkeyes got a nice TE prospect in Nate Vejvoda, the bad news is that they only got one safety prospect in Michael Ojemudia.

The good news is Vejvoda should have a little time to bulk up before he’s needed, the bad news is that Ojemudia may be needed far too soon.

The good news is Gary Dolphin should have a couple of years to learn to pronounce Vejvoda’s name, the bad news is he may have to learn Ojemudia’s (don’t ask me) way faster than that.

The good news is that the Hawkeyes may have found a diamond in the rough in RB Eric Graham out of Alabama, the bad news is they had to find him late because they lost a very good RB prospect Karan Higdon on signing day to Michigan.

The Bad News (hopefully with a silver lining)

Karan Higdon had been committed to the Hawkeyes for a while and the week before signing day he said he was 110% a Hawkeye.  For those of us that follow recruiting closely this gave us an uneasy feeling because the last time a running back gave that kind of statement was when Melvin Gordon said he was 100% committed to Iowa and then decommitted shortly after that and went on to his stellar career at Wisconsin.  There is a nice symmetry to Gordon leaving Wisconsin for the NFL and now the Hawkeyes will have another Big Ten running back to loathe.  It seemed like a shady deal with Higdon at the end of recruiting as there were reports of a “handler”, for lack of a better term, sending his tape to Michigan and pushing him to visit and then he eventually flipped to the Wolverines.  Iowa doesn’t usually do well with kids that have “handlers” because they don’t play that game but this one stung a little and it won’t soon be forgotten by many Hawkeye fans.  The silver lining might come in the form of Eric Graham a kid from Alabama no one had ever heard of until late in the morning on signing day.  Graham just recently got a qualifying ACT score in December and according to his coach that’s why he wasn’t highly recruited.  He put up insane stats his last two years and his film looks fantastic so it’s hard to believe anything else held him back.  After watching his highlight reels I love the way he runs.  Iowa has been lacking a back that can make one cut and burst through the hole in the zone blocking scheme and that’s exactly what Graham seems to excel at.  I’ll bang the drum on this one more time and say the Hawkeyes have to recognize their playmakers and actually use them, Graham isn’t a top flight, well-regarded recruit but the staff has to give him every opportunity to play because the depth chart at RB needs his skills.

The rest of the bad news on signing day was more about perception than anything else.  Having the Hawkeyes finish 12th or 13th in the recruiting rankings for the Big Ten is a PR blow for a coach and program that needs a shot in the arm.  I’ll be the first to say that many of the 2 star recruits Iowa got I like very much (Graham, Falconer, Jinning and Reiff specifically) but in college football perception is reality.  The reality is that the Hawkeye program is struggling and the perception of the recruiting class is that they are going to continue to struggle if this is the best they can do.  I really like a lot about this recruiting class and surprising I like many of the young players on the roster and I see plenty of potential.  Now if Iowa just had a coaching staff that could get these guys to reach their potential we might get somewhere (I warned you there might be an occasional shot at Ferentz/Davis).