Brady McCullough picking up more interest

Ankeny WR/TE Brady McCullough has already had a good summer on the camp circuit, earning FCS offers from Northern Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota State. Now, the 6-foot-5, 212-pound McCullough is also picking up more interest from the Iowa Hawkeyes as well.

"I had a very good experience at Iowa’s camp," said McCullough. "The coaching staff was very instructive and the camp was smooth and very well run."

"I feel I put on one of my best performances at Iowa," McCullough said. "I caught every ball in every one-on-one rep I had and then was able to showcase my blocking skills which went really well as well."

A wide receiver in high school, playing the tight end position at Iowa's camp was new to McCullough, but he impressed the Hawkeye coaching staff with how quickly he was able to pick things up.

"Being the first time doing everything at the tight end position at Iowa, they really loved what they saw and everything came natural for me," said McCullough. "The only thing that was a gray area for them was whether or not I can carry the necessary weight to play at the tight end position in college, since I am on the lighter side at 212 pounds right now."

With Iowa still looking for at least one, if not two, tight ends in the Class of 2022, the Hawkeyes have stayed in close contact with McCullough, who ran a 4.64 forty this summer.

"Since camp, I have been talking weekly with Iowa and the communication has recently picked back up," McCullough said. "They contacted me saying they plan on being in touch more frequently in the coming weeks."

"I just talked to Coach Niemann yesterday and he just wanted to make sure I knew they were still very interested."

Playing alongside Iowa recruits Brody Brecht and Arland Bruce on Ankeny's run to a state title in 2020, McCullough did not get a ton of touches last season but was able to finish with 17 catches for 243 yards and two touchdowns. As a senior, he is expected to play a much bigger role and the Ankeny coaching staff has no doubt he is a high Division I prospect.

"Brady has all the tools and make up to be an elite tight end," said Ankeny assistant coach Brady Walz. "Number one, he wants to do it. Most big wide receivers in high school don't want to get dirty and block people, but he loves it. He will be a violent football player. Number two, he loves the weight room and loves nutrition. He will do the necessary things to gain weight. Number three, he is fast and has the ball skills of a wide receiver."

"He is vastly underrated right now," Walz said. "Someone is going to get a steal."