Recruiting Class

With signing day a few weeks ago the Hawks welcomed 18 new players with their letter of intents to play football at the University of Iowa. Below is a list of the commitments:

Stephane Ngoumou WR Rockville, MD 6-4 210
Nolan MacMillan OT Princeton, NJ 6-6 285
Micah Hyde QB Fostoria, OH 6-1 165
Connor Boffeli TE W. Des Moines, IA 6-5 245
Dakota Getz TE Macon, IL 6-4 210
Matt Murphy OT Clinton, IA 6-6 250
Josh Brown WR St. Petersburg, FL 5-11 190
Marty Hopkins LB Chicago, IL 6-3 230
Shane Dibona RB Duxbury, MA 6-2 220
Tyler Harrell DE Dublin, OH 6-4 225
Anthony Schiavone TE New London, CT 6-6 225
Scott Covert DE Lake Forest, IL 6-3 240
Brett Van Sloten OT Decorah, IA 6-7 255
Brandon Wegher RB Sioux City, IA 5-11 206
Keenan Davis WR Cedar Rapids, IA 6-3 195
Drew Clark OL Marion, IA 6-4 280
Jordan Cotton WR Mount Pleasant, IA 6-1 175
Brad Rogers RB Toledo, OH 5-9 230

For yet another year the Hawkeyes locked down most of the top recruits inside the borders of Iowa, taking 7 instate commitments. A few years ago there would be no question about who was redshirting, but over the last two seasons Iowa has begun to use true freshman to contribute to the team. Below is a top five list of players that could see playing time as a true freshman:

Stephane Ngoumou – I think that the staff would love to allow Stephane to take his redshirt and develop his game, however you cannot ignore his size and speed. He was a player that didn’t garner much Division I interest until his Senior season when he burst on to the scene with 71 catches for 1,015 yards and 9 TD’s. WR could be an area where a true freshman could step in and contribute immediately as you will see with this list.

Jordan Cotton – I don’t know if there was any doubt that Jordan would be a Hawk, his dad played for Iowa from 84-87. Jordan comes to Iowa City having played RB in high school and looking to make the transition to WR at the college level. I seem to remember a former Ankeny Hawk doing the same thing and having quite a bit of success. Jordan is another player that could use a year to hone his skills as a redshirt, learning the position of WR, but depth issues could force him to see the field early.

Nolan MacMillan – Normally you don’t talk about a freshman coming in and contributing on either side of the ball, for the mere fact that they haven’t fully developed. A few years ago current Hawk, Bryan Bulaga would have been in that boat if it hadn’t been for injuries. Nolan comes to Iowa City after a season of playing at the Hun prep school, so he is a little bit more developed that most freshman. Don’t be surprised if hi pushes for some early playing time this fall.

Brandon Wegher – Brandon has all the skills to play right away at Iowa, the one thing that could keep him off the field is finding a position for him to play. He comes to the Hawks having played RB in high school, but has the speed and ability to play RB, slot receiver, or DB at Iowa. You could see him play multiple positions at Iowa just to make it onto the field. Don’t be surprised if he plays special teams as a freshman, possibly as a returner.

Keenan Davis – One of the most talented if not the most talented freshman receiver to come to Iowa. His skills are very polished and he looks very smooth when running routes and catching the ball. The Cedar Rapids native comes from the same school that former Michigan Wolverine, Adrian Arrington played at. He has all the tools to play as a freshman next season, but will have to be able to grasp a college playbook the same way he did the high school one. That shouldn’t be a problem as Ken O’Keefe seems to have a very small playbook. Look for Keenan to crack the 2-deeps in the fall and possibly the starting lineup if all goes well.

Over the next several weeks I will go over the remainder of the recruiting class and a couple of the walk-ons.