Two-sport star Jalen Suggs would be a huge recruit for both the Iowa basketball and Iowa football teams, and he is set to make a decision in mid-August.
The Iowa football team’s 2020 recruiting class is looking incredibly strong with 21 commits so far, and while there are a few guys still on the Hawkeyes radar, there is one, in particular, that would be a monumental grab.
Jalen Suggs is a two-sport star. He’s ranked as a 4-star recruit in football and a 5-star recruit in basketball. He currently holds 31 offers in basketball and 7 offers in football, and it sounds like he would love to attempt to do both.
At 6’5” and 185 pounds, he is listed as a dual-threat quarterback, but with the Iowa football team, we would likely see him transition to wide receiver, linebacker, or tight end. On the basketball court, he is projected to be a point guard.
For the football team, getting a 4-star recruit is awesome, but not uncommon. In fact, the Hawks have two in the class of 2020 already, but for the basketball team, landing a 5-star recruit would be huge.
They’ve never done it, and they are well in the mix for another 5-star recruit in Oskaloosa’s Xavier Foster. Landing a Suggs and Foster would be program changing for the Iowa basketball team. They wouldn’t just be a team that builds a winner every few years, but a team that is ready to win instantly with young guys.
For the Minnesota native, it sounds like from a basketball perspective, Gonzaga is the clear-cut favorite to win his services. However, he wants to play both basketball and football if possible and Gonzaga doesn’t have a football team.
That bodes well for the Hawks who have a better combined football and basketball program than the other schools vying for his services.
It sounds like this decision could be coming in the next month and a half too.
Mid-August could be a big moment for Iowa Hawkeye athletics if this two-sport star makes the decision to spend his collegiate career in Iowa City.