Barten holds his own at Iowa camp

This spring, the Iowa Hawkeyes stepped forward with an early scholarship offer for Class of 2020 offensive lineman Ben Barten. For the 6-foot-6, 248-pound Wisconsin native, it initially came as a bit of a surprise, but one that left him excited about the possibilities.

“It was amazing receiving an offer from them,” said Barten. “Coach Polasek came to Stratford to meet my coach, Jason Tubbs, and then the next week we went to Iowa City where Coach Ferentz made the offer.”

On Sunday, Barten was back in Iowa City to work with the coaching staff at their one-day camp and held his own against a talented group of young defensive linemen.

“The experience was fantastic,” said Barten. “I thought the competition was great. It was really fun going against guys like Logan Wilson and Aaron Witt. Coach Polasek said that I did a great job and was very athletic.”

Barten, who also has an offer from South Dakota State, has attended camps at both Iowa and Wisconsin this summer and is mostly looking at the two Big Ten schools at this point in his recruiting.

“The only camps I have attended are Iowa and Wisconsin,” Barten said. “I have had interest from other schools, but those two have always been my primary focus.”

At Wisconsin, who has yet to offer, the Class of 2020 prospect worked on both sides of the ball with the Badgers’ coaching staff.

“I originally went to Wisconsin's camp for offensive line, but then they asked me to come back and give the defensive line side of camp a try too,” said Barten. “The feedback from them was positive.”

Barten, who plans to visit Iowa again on July 29, is still taking it all in at this point and not looking too far ahead with the recruiting process.

“It’s all very new to my family,” Barten said. “The process is somewhat stressful, but also exciting. I really don’t have a time frame yet for making a decision.”