By Blake Dowson
Welcome to National Signing Day, the day that, typically, the rich get richer and the poor fight over the 2- and 3-star players remaining.
For the Hawkeyes, they feast off those 2- and 3-star prospects. Iowa is a developmental program, something it pitches athletes every year.
Head coach Kirk Ferentz actually had quite a bit of momentum early in the recruiting process, which died down a little bit after a couple decommitments, but has picked back up now that Signing Day is upon us.
Here is a look at the 2017 class so far:
Where it was
At one point during the recruiting process, the Hawkeyes had a top-20 class. After 5-star Illinois defensive lineman AJ Epenesa committed (more on that later), the dominoes started to fall. Eno Benjamin, the No. 5 running back in the class out of Texas, committed to the Hawkeyes and started his own recruiting campaign in his home state. That led to six other Texas commitments, including two highly recruited receivers.
However, things got dicey with Benjamin; he went on a recruiting visit to Arizona State after he had committed to Iowa (which is against Ferentz rules). Ferentz ended up pulling his scholarship offer. After Benjamin had his scholarship revoked because of the no-visit rule, a number of other Texas recruits opted out of their oral commitments with the Hawkeyes.
Chevin Calloway (No. 8 cornerback), Beau Corrales (6-4 receiver now committed to North Carolina), and Gavin Holmes (No. 74 receiver now committed to Baylor) all turned away from Iowa.
Where it is now
The Hawkeyes have recovered somewhat from the Texas fallout. They now have 20 players committed in the class, as of Tuesday night. Four of those have come in the past three days, as Iowa has gotten into the offering-recruits-that-have-already-committed-to-other-schools-scholarships game, getting them to swap commitments.
The crown jewel of the class is Epenesa, the No. 1 strong side defensive end in the class. The 6-5, 270-pound freight train’s father, Eppy Epenesa, played for Iowa in the 1990s.
A pair of in-state offensive linemen are the No. 2 and 3 recruits in the class. Tristan Wirfs (4-star from Mount Vernon) and Mark Kallenberger (3-star from Bettendorf) have both committed to following the Iowa offensive-line tradition.
Iowa’s biggest recruiting win since Epenesa was probably Kyshaun Bryan, a running back from Florida who originally committed to play at South Carolina. The No. 6 back in Florida had offers from practically everybody (Florida, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State) but ultimately chose the Hawkeyes.
Peyton Mansell is the one quarterback in Iowa’s class. Mansell, 6-2 and 205 pounds, is listed as a pro-style quarterback or dual threat, depending who you ask. Iowa was Mansell’s only Power 5 offer, though Minnesota and Northwestern showed interest.
What needs to happen today
It was very clear Iowa didn’t have a weapon at receiver this past season. After Matt VandeBerg got hurt, the depth at that position was paper-thin. In the past three or four years, the receivers Iowa has brought in just haven’t panned out.
Therefore, that’s the biggest need for Iowa today — find one more playmaker to polish off the class.
The Hawkeyes have commitments from three — Brandon Smith (3-star, Mississippi), Henry Marchese (2-star, Illinois), and Max Cooper (2-star, Wisconsin).
The last could possibly be Ihmir Smith-Marsette, a receiver from New Jersey who originally committed to Rutgers, then switched to Minnesota on Sunday. However, he said he is still considering his options, and Iowa has been connected to him throughout his recruitment.
