ESPN’s college football recruiting rankings saw a massive shake-up in the latest edition (subscription required). Despite pulling in their first ESPN300 recruit of the class in offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor, Iowa actually moved down four spots to end up at No. 24 nationally.
Despite moving them down the list, ESPN staff writer Craig Haubert still had positives to take away from the class’ strong foundation.
Not surprisingly, the Hawkeyes’ class is not very flashy, but it has a very solid foundation. QB Marco Lainez III is a consistent, smooth, and accurate passer who looks like a nice fit for Iowa’s offense. Known for its eye for and developing offensive linemen, Iowa landed top-five center Leighton Jones. Proctor is one of the most important in-state gets for any program in this cycle. Big, strong and agile, he has the tools to be a quick contributor and one of Iowa’s next All-American-caliber OLs. Defensively, Brackney displays good power to collapse the pocket and set the edge vs. the run. – Haubert, ESPN.
It is an accurate description of the class so far, and for most Iowa recruiting classes in recent years. Iowa recruits players who fit their system, and who buy into their mentality, rather than chasing the flashiest recruits. Most of the other schools featured have more than one ESPN300 commit. It might hamper Iowa’s overall ranking, but it works for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa was not the only team to drop in the rankings. Fellow Big Ten rival Northwestern fell from No. 11 all the way to No. 20. Michigan State also dropped two slots to No. 19. Both Ohio State (No. 2) and Penn State (No. 5) round out the list for the Big Ten.
While Iowa may be one of the few teams ranked with only one ESPN300 recruit, it is a special commit for the program. Currently, only three teams have a higher-graded commit on offense than Proctor.
It is Miami with offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa (No. 5), as well as USC and Texas snagging the top two players in Malachi Nelson and Arch Manning. That is it for the moment. Of course, cornerback Cormani McClain and outside linebacker Anthony Hill are still yet to have decided, but this is a momentous class for the Hawkeyes.
While the rest of the class might not be as loved, it never is and despite that Iowa always churns out really good players. Nobody can take Kadyn Proctor away as a recruit. That is a top 10 player who Iowa wrestled away from virtually every big team, including Alabama. They managed to keep yet another top prospect in the state. Combined with their solid-as-usual foundation, and this has shaped up to be a very good class for Kirk Ferentz.
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