Hawkeyes reverse 2015 recruiting trend, land recruit No. 12 in the month of June

Written by Ryan Wright

Iowa Hawkeye recruiting could easily be summed up as the Rubik Cube of Division-I football. Under head coach Kirk Ferentz, now in his 17th year in Iowa City, the results on the field have been mixed in recent years pointing fingers to uneven recruiting classes.

From the 1999 season Ferentz has posted a win-loss record of 127-106 with the Hawkeyes splitting his bowl games down the middle at 6-6. Since the early 2000’s, the golden years for Iowa under Ferentz when the team scored Big Ten titles in 2002 and 2004, the Hawkeyes have produced one double-digit win season going 11-2 in 2009 but more regularly are floating around the 8-5 and 7-6 mark of mediocrity.

Now perhaps there is a change in the air from the top down with Iowa seemingly pushing harder on the recruiting trail with the 2016 recruiting class having landed 12 of 16 verbal commitments in the month of June alone. By the end of June last year Ferentz and staff had nine verbal commitments landing just two in the month of June. Iowa did not firmly secure their 16th commitment to their 2015 class until Anthony Nelson joined the list on January 5, 2015.

Iowa got the proverbial ball rolling in June with the commitment of Cedar Falls High School offensive lineman Spencer Williams on June 8. The following day both Kyle Taylor and Cole Banwart jumped aboard. From June 15 through the 22nd Barrington Wade, Amani Hooker, Toks Akinribade, T.J. Hockenson, Nick Niemann, Austin Schulte, Amani Jones, Devonte Young, and Frank Darby, in order, have all verbally committed to the Hawkeyes.

Of the lot running back/linebacker Barrington Wade, linebacker Kyle Taylor, linebacker Nick Niemann, and running back Toks Akinribade are the headline grabbers.

Iowa Hawkeyes 2016 Verbal Commitment List

QB Nathan Stanley, 6’4”, 183 lbs, Menomonie HS, Menomonie, Wisconsin

WR Frank Darby, 6’1”, 180 lbs, Lincoln HS, Jersey City, New Jersey

WR Devonte Young, 6’0”, 191 lbs, North Point HS, Waldorf, Maryland

RB Toks Akinribade, 6’0”, 205 lbs, Brownsburg HS, Brownsburg, Indiana

RB/LB Barrington Wade, 6’1”, 207 lbs, Niles North HS, Skokie, Illinois

RB Toren Young, 5’11”, 206 lbs, Monona Grove HS, Monoa Grove, Wisconsin

OL Cole Banwart, 6’4”, 275 lbs, Algona HS, Algona, Iowa

OL Spencer Williams, 6’3”, 275 lbs, Cedar Falls HS, Cedar Falls, Iowa

TE T.J. Hockenson, 6’5”, 230 lbs, Chariton HS, Chariton, Iowa

DE Chauncey Golston, 6’5”, 235 lbs, East English Village, Detroit, Michigan

DE Cedrick Lattimore, 6’4”, 251 lbs, East English Village, Detroit, Michigan

DE Austin Schulte, 6’4”, 240 lbs, Pella HS, Pella, Iowa

LB Amani Jones, 6’0”, 215 lbs, Phillips HS, Chicago, Illinois

LB Nick Niemann, 6’3”, 205 lbs, Sycamore HS, Sycamore, Illinois

LB Kyle Taylor, 6’2”, 220 lbs, Gonzaga HS, Washington D.C.

DB Amani Hooker, 6’1”, 195 lbs, Park Center HS, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota

 

Photo credit: flyergroup.com; No. 24 Toks Akinribade gets around the end for Brownsburg.