2023 in-state prospect has Division I interest

Durant athlete Nolan DeLong may be just a freshman, but a strong showing during the fall that had him rushing for over 1,000 yards helped him onto the radar of the Hawkeyes.

“I think Iowa is the only one so far, but I don’t know if anyone else is," said DeLong. "Since I’m not a junior, they can’t talk to me about it. They can only talk to my coaches.”

DeLong, who finished with 57 stops, 11 tackles for loss, and eight sacks on defense, had an opportunity to see first-hand what an Iowa game was like when he attended their win over Minnesota.

“It was awesome and a great experience," DeLong said. "All of the coaches so amazing and I’m grateful they invited me.”

There was one specific portion of the trek that stood out most to DeLong.

“Probably going down on the field for the Swarm," he said. "The experience was amazing going to go down on the field. How I thought about it was that not a lot of people get to do what I did so it was very special.”

DeLong mentioned the Hawkeyes being a program that he kept a close eye on since he was younger.

“Growing up, I have always loved Iowa and hope someday to be playing there.”

More college trips are something that DeLong is hopeful he gets an opportunity to make.

“I don’t really have any plans, but I hope I will get invited to more games in the future.”

DeLong came away pleased with his freshman year of football as the varsity team ended 5-4 overall.

“We did good as a team," said DeLong. "I still wished we would’ve made it to the playoffs, but even though we didn’t, we had a great year.”

Another sport and the weights are what going to keep DeLong busy during the rest of the winter.

“I am in basketball right now and working out every other day in school," DeLong said. "After basketball, I’m going to start to lift every day.”