Tom squared loves the potential of one of Iowa‘s freshmen. ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren and Tom Luginbill both named Xavier Nwankpa to their preseason true freshman All-America teams.
The Southeast Polk High School product has been highly-regarded ever since he committed and signed with the Hawkeyes. According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Nwankpa was the No. 25 player nationally, the No. 1 safety and the top player from the state of Iowa.
Nwankpa has been a popular pick as one of the top true freshmen in all of college football. ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren recently included Nwankpa among college football’s top 50 newcomers.
With that in mind, it makes sense that VanHaaren also includes Nwankpa here as one of his true freshman All-America team members.
Typically, Iowa recruits take a few years to develop, but Nwankpa is an ESPN 300 safety the staff fought hard to get because he can impact the game right away. Safety Jack Koerner is gone from last season, and Nwankpa should have an opportunity to play his way onto the field this season. – VanHaaren, ESPN.
Here’s what Luginbill had to say on Nwankpa’s inclusion on his true freshman All-America team.
The Hawkeyes return a great player in Riley Moss at corner, but the rest of the secondary is gone, and Iowa rarely picks up a prospect at the skill positions the likes of Nwankpa. Expect him to occupy one the two safety spots immediately. – Luginbill, ESPN.
Based on Kirk Ferentz’s spring comments and some of his thoughts after Nwankpa picked off a pass during the open Kids’ Day at Kinnick practice, it definitely looks and sounds like the Pleasant Hill, Iowa, native is fitting in nicely early.
“All the guys that got here in January, it’s coming at them fast in the spring. And, it’s a credit to them, they do a good job, but it’s still, it’s like a different language. Now, he had all summer to digest things. Now, he’s had 10 practices underneath his belt, so my guess is we’ll see him start to gain ground with each and every day. He’s a good football player, great young guy and he’ll be a good football player for us,” Ferentz said.
247Sports also included Nwankpa as one of the Big Ten’s top 25 incoming freshmen, while SB Nation tabbed him as the Hawkeyes’ freshman to watch.
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