A Look Ahead: 2015 Recruiting Class

Now that 2014 National Signing Day has passed, it’s never too early to start looking ahead to next year.  Everyone does it, so lets glance at the 2015 recruiting class for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

For starters, Iowa already has two players committed to come to Iowa City as a part of the 2015 recruiting class.

Quarterback, Jack Beneventi, who is ranked in the junior top 300 according to ESPN.com, committed to play for the Hawkeyes back in early December. Beneventi is tall at 6’6″, but is still rather slender.  However, he will have another year of high school football to tack on some pounds.

The other commit is a 3 star offensive guard out of Inwood, Iowa.  Jacob Newborg committed to the Hawkeyes in early September.  He’s a little small at 6’2″, but has good weight for a high school senior at 271 pounds.

Other than these two players, Iowa has 40 total offers out and of those 40, 13 players have Iowa in their top 3.  Lets dive in!

Offensive Players:

Sam Madden, an offensive tackle out of Barnegat, NJ, currently has Iowa sitting at number 3 on his list.  He’s an 81 grade and is a four star recruit.  At 6’7″ and 340 pounds, Madden definitely has the size to play in the Big Ten.

Irvin Charles, a wide receiver out of Haddonfield, NJ, has Iowa 3rd on his list just like Madden.  Charles is a 79 grade and a 3 star recruit.  Charles also has great size to perform at the Big Ten level.  He is 6’4″ and 208 pounds.  His 40 time will need to get better because 4.73 won’t cut it at the receiver spot.

Jabari Greenwood, also a wide receiver, is out of Washington, D.C. and has Iowa all the way up at the top spot on his list.  Greenwood also possesses really good height for a wide receiver.  He is 6’4″ and weighs 190 pounds.   If Iowa is able to land both Charles and Greenwood, they would have some serious height on the edges.

Then comes the Paulsen twins.  Landon and Levi.  Levi plays tackle and Landon plays guard.  Both kids are 3 star recruits and have Iowa atop their lists.  They’re both home grown boys from Moville, Iowa.  They are both 6’6″ and weigh around 260 pounds.  They’d be nice additions in the class of 2015.

Najee Clayton is the next man on the list.  Another wide receiver out of Paramus, NJ and like the other two, he has great height.  At 6’3″ he’s able to go up and grab footballs over smaller defenders.  Clayton has Iowa 2nd on his list and is listed as a 3 star recruit.

The next two players are both listed as dual threat quarterbacks and both kids are from Illinois.  David Edwards, from Downers Grove, IL, is listed as a 3 star quarterback and has Iowa 3rd on his list.  He has really good size at 6’6″ and 215 pounds.  The chances Iowa grabs him are slim to none with Tyler Wiegers coming in this year and Beneventi next year.

The other quarterback is, Jack Hockaday, from Moroa, IL.  He’s a three star kid and has Iowa listed as his third option right now.  Like Edwards, I doubt Iowa grabs Hockaday.

Kyle Markway, a tight end out of Kirkwood, MO, is a three star guy that has Iowa as his second option.  Considering Iowa has a very rich tradition at the tight end position, there is a good chance Markway makes his way to Iowa City because that has got to be appealing.

Jaelen Austin, a wide receiver from Grand Prairie, TX, is listed at 6’1″, so he has average height for a wide-out.  Austin has Iowa second on his list.

The final offensive player is, Matt McCann.  McCann is an offensive tackle out of Indianapolis, IN and is listed as a three star recruit.  At 6’6″ and 290 pounds, he has the size to play at the Big Ten level. He has Iowa at 3rd on his list.

Defensive Players:

Well, there sure aren’t a lot of defensive guys that have Iowa high on their list right now.  To be exact, there are just two.

Garrett Taylor is the highest rated player that currently has Iowa in his top 3.  He is a cornerback out of Richmond, VA and is a four star player.  At 6’1″ and 187 pounds, he’ll do just fine in the Big Ten at the corner spot.

Finally, its Anthony Wheeler.  He plays the defensive end spot and, like Taylor, is a four star recruit with an overall grade of 82.  He’s out of Dallas, TX and has Iowa second on his list as of right now.  Both Wheeler and Taylor could help this Iowa defense if they choose to come to Iowa City.

I know this is about a year away, but Iowa does have their foot in the door on some pretty good athletes and players.  I would expect the same type of recruiting class we saw this year, because that’s been the trend for however long Kirk Ferentz has been in Iowa City.