Iowa football: Hawks steal 3-star DE from Minnesota

Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa football team have plucked three-star defensive end Yahya Black from the grasp of the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

The Iowa football 2020 recruiting class just keeps getting better. Yesterday the Hawkeyes received a commitment from three-star, strong-side, defensive end Yahya Black. The 6-6, 250-pound recruit is from Marshall, Minnesota and is ranked as the 6th best prospect in the state.

247Sports has him ranked as the 40th best strong-side defensive end in the country. The commitment from Black pushes Iowa up to the 21st best recruiting class in the country and 4th in the Big Ten. He had offers in hand from Buffalo, Kansas State, Minnesota, and North Dakota State among others.

He recently took an unofficial visit with Kirk Ferentz and the rest of the coaching staff and that was apparently good enough for him to verbally commit. Black already has great size and this coaching staff should be very excited about being able to work with him.

When I watch his film, the first thing I notice is how much bigger he is than everyone else. He primarily rushes the passer from a stand-up position, much like Khalil Mack or Von Miller does in the NFL. Black has long arms that help him become a disruptive force on the defensive line. If he’s not making the play himself, he’s at least doing enough to create pressure so that his teammates can create a turnover.

I don’t want to say that he looks unblockable but he gets around the first wave of blockers pretty easily. He shows good burst around the offensive line. In scenarios like quarterback roll-outs, Black does a terrific job of shedding off blockers and hitting the quarterback.

In a sense, he reminds me a lot of A.J. Epenesa in that he won’t always make the box score but he’s going to do enough so that the rest of the defense will have a chance to make plays. This is a big commitment for the Hawkeyes.

Black has an opportunity to become the next great Hawkeye defensive end to come through these doors. He will be taking an official visit next week in Iowa City.