Kirk Ferenz talks Iowa football’s early signees

Wednesday marked the early signing period for high school athletes, and Iowa landed 20 recruits.

The Daily Iowan; Photos by Joseph Cress

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz walks out of the tunnel before the Iowa/Nebraska football game in Memorial Stadium on Friday, Nov. 24, 2017. The Hawkeyes defeated the Cornhuskers, 56-14. (Joseph Cress/The Daily Iowan)

Adam Hensley, Pregame Editor

Wednesday marked the early singing day for recruits, and Iowa totaled 20 prospects:

  • Dane Belton, DB (6-0, 185, Tampa, Fla. Jesuit)
  • Justin Britt, OL (6-4, 290, Indianapolis, Ind. Warren Central)
  • Shadrick Byrd, RB (5-10, 210, Alabaster, Ala. Thompson)
  • Jack Campbell, LB (6-4, 215, Cedar Falls, Iowa. Cedar Falls)
  • Sebastian Castro, DB (5-11, 190, Oak Lawn, Ill. Richards)
  • Tyler Endres, OL (6-6, 300, Norwalk, Iowa. Norwalk)
  • Noah Fenske, OL (6-4, 295, New Hampton, Iowa. New Hampton)
  • Tyler Goodson, RB (5-10, 190, Suwanee, Ga. North Gwinnett)
  • Jalen Hunt, DL (6-3, 260, Detroit, Mich. Belleville)
  • Desmond Hutson, WR (6-3, 185, Raytown, Mo. Raytown)
  • Jestin Jacobs, LB (6-4, 210, Englewood, Ohio. Northmont)
  • Yahweh Jeudy, LB (6-2, 210, Pompano Beach, Fla. Cardinal Gibbons)
  • Jake Karchinski, DL (6-4, 245, De Pere, Wis. West)
  • Sam LaPorta, TE (6-4, 225, Highland, Ill. Highland)
  • Logan Lee, TE (6-5, 245, Orion, Ill. Orion)
  • Daraun McKinney, DB (5-11, 185, River Rouge, Mich. River Rouge)
  • Josiah Miamen, TE (6-4, 225, Peoria, Ill. Dunlap)
  • Erza Miller, OL (6-6, 310, Holstein, Iowa. Ridge View)
  • Alex Padilla, QB (6-1, 190, Greenwood Village, Co. Cherry Creek)
  • Chris Reames, DL (6-7, 225, Van Meter, Iowa. Van Meter)

The 2019 Hawkeye class (so far) ranks 38th in the country, according to Rivals.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz had plenty to say on the early singees:

On Tyler Goodson – “We think he’s a really talented back. He’s one of those guys that played on a state championship team. He’s got really good skills, and I think he’ll fit what we’re looking for. I like our backs right now. The three backs that we saw play this year — we didn’t get to see a lot of Ivory, but the other two guys have really done a good job, and I think he’ll hopefully help supplement that group.”

On Ezra Miller – “We have six guys coming early, and Erza is one of those guys. He’s a delightful young guy. He’s got a great attitude, very positive. It’s hard for him not to stand out a little bit with his size. But he’s just got a great attitude. He’s worked hard in camp. We saw a real jump. He came back in camp again last year, which tells you a little bit about him, too, but he’s got a good attitude. He works hard, and he’s just scratching the surface, so we’re eager to get him here.”

On Logan Lee – “He’s an impressive player on film. You meet him, he’s a really impressive young man with a great mom and dad, and they were over here early and often. The coach came with him, too, and that was neat. Just everything about it was really positive, and a big part of recruiting is either — your message — more importantly, what they’re exposed to on campus, it either resonates or it doesn’t. In this case I think it really kind of resonated right off the bat, so that’s a really good thing. Sometimes it goes the other way, too.”

On Jestin Jacobs – “ First of all, we’re really excited about him, and I think more excited now that [Ohio State] made a run at him, another school made a run at him, and I think there were some people in the community obviously that would have hoped he would have gone there, but he stood his ground. He was firmly committed to us, and that certainly makes us feel good, and that’s not easy when you’re 17, 18 years old to make a firm commitment and then stick with it when there’s maybe some outside pressure to do something differently. So that gives us a little bit of insight into his makeup, and for a linebacker that’s what you’re looking for, a guy that’s strong minded. Every position, but certainly a linebacker. And then about the whole circumstances, yeah, it’s all case by case. I really kind of look at it like discipline. Every case is a little bit different. Bottom line is you want to be fair in how you handle things, and all you can do is act on the information you have.”