After an impressive showing at Iowa’s recent football camp earlier this month, 2023 offensive tackle Cannon Leonard picked up an offer from the Hawkeyes on his unofficial visit.
The 6-foot-9, 265 pound offensive tackle is out of Iroquois West High School in Gilman, Ill. According to 247Sports, Leonard is a two-star talent, the nation’s No. 149 offensive tackles and the No. 73 player from the state of Illinois.
HawkeyeReport editor Blair Sanderson of Rivals caught up with Leonard to discuss his offer from Iowa and the relationship Leonard has been able to foster with Hawkeye offensive line coach George Barnett.
“The main thing that impressed him and the rest of the staff was when I really showed out and had an amazing performance at their camp two weeks ago,” Leonard said. “I was amazed. Iowa has always been a school I have looked at, especially with how important offensive line play is to them.”
The offer from Iowa is the first Big Ten or Power Five offer for Leonard. He also has offers from Army, Ball State, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Florida Atlantic, Illinois State, Long Island, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, Western Illinois and Yale.
Naturally, Iowa is banking on its ability to eye and develop talent that other programs may be overlooking here. If Leonard picks Iowa, he would join three-star offensive lineman Leighton Jones out of Brownsburg High School in Indiana.
The Hawkeyes have 11 commits overall in their 2023 class, including a recent commit from running back Kendrick Raphael. Here’s a look at Leonard’s Hudl highlights from his junior season at Iroquois West High School, his recruiting profile and the Hawkeyes’ full list of 2023 commits.