Iowa football recruiting class among top in the nation

It was a year for the record books. 12-0 for the first time in school history, Big Ten West champs, a berth in the Rosebowl. Little could have made the 2015 football season more magical (accept maybe a less embarrassing loss to Stanford). But now the question becomes, where does Iowa football go from here?

Was this just a fluke? Will we revert back to years of mediocrity before having another year like this one?

Not if the incoming recruiting classes have anything to say about it.

Iowa has never been a recruiting powerhouse. The hawks often lose out on highly touted recruits to rival big ten schools like Michigan, Ohio State, and Michigan State. The 4 and 5 star recruits that commit to these schools go on to make an immediate impact, often playing major minutes within a year of arriving on campus.

At Iowa, the story is usually a little different. Iowa is notorious for recruiting 2 and 3 star kids, developing their skills, playing them as juniors and seniors, and sending them off to the draft. Rarely do we bring on highly regarded recruits that make an immediate impact on the game.

That is, until now.

While the 2016 recruits look like a typical Iowa class, lots of 3 stars across the board, the 2017 class is shaping up to be a different story. According to ESPN, we have the 15th strongest class in the nation for 2017. We currently sit 3rd in the Big Ten behind national number one, Ohio State and number 8, Michigan. Two recruits stand out specifically among the Hawkeye class of 2017.

4 star defensive lineman A.J. Epenesa committed in January and is among the top ranked defensive ends in the nation. Epenesa could provide an immediate boost to the Hawkeye defense when he arrives on campus in 2017.

On the other side of the ball, Eno Benjamin, a 4 star recruit from Texas committed last week. The running back is the 25th ranked running back in the nation according to ESPN and chose the hawks over offers from Michigan, Northwestern, and Houston among others.

Benjamin was the second 4 star recruit to commit in 4 months, an excellent sign leading into the coming recruiting season.

Iowa has also fared well among in state prospects. According to 24/7 sports, we have signed the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 10th ranked players in the state. It always feels good to out recruit our instate rivals. Although it’s not too difficult, who would want to go there anyway?

So what does this mean for Iowa? Most importantly, it bodes well for the future of the program. If we are able to sign highly sought after recruits, we take one step closer to establishing ourselves as perennial contenders for the Big Ten Championship. We may also be seeing a shift in ideology regarding the football program here. This season, fans embraced “new Kirk” as Kirk Ferentz began to break from his ultra conservative play style.

The signing of recruits like Epenesa and Benjamin seemsto signal that Iowa is ready to become more than just an NFL draft haven. These are type of guys that could play at Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, Oklahoma, but chose to come to Iowa City. Ferentz is perhaps realizing that in order to contend in the Big Ten, you need to contend in your recruiting classes.

Having this amount of talent to work with from the get go could spell trouble for the rest of the Big Ten.

Look out Buckeyes, we’re coming.