David Caulker commits to Iowa

After an impressive performance at Iowa's camp Sunday, Des Moines North defensive end David Caulker earned a scholarship offer from the Hawkeyes and quickly took them up on it. The 6-foot-4, 256-pound Caulker accepted almost on the spot and officially announced his verbal commitment to the Iowa coaching staff today.

"At camp on Sunday, all I was thinking about was I need to get this offer because when I make my commitment I want Iowa to be one of my choices," said Caulker. "So I was just playing my heart out and going as hard as I've ever played."

"I thought it was it went pretty well and then afterwards I talked to Coach Niemann and Coach Bell, who told me to wait until he had a chance to talk to the other coaches. They talked and then after everybody else left he called me over and said, "Dave, you got 30 seconds to commit." It was funny, but I decided I was too emotional so I wasn't going to commit right away on the spot."

"Then Coach Niemann brought me into his office and Coach Ferentz walked in, so I decided to tell them this is where I want to go and I committed," Caulker said.

A three-star prospect, Caulker chose Iowa over scholarship offers from Iowa State, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri, Kent State, Northern Illinois, and Northern Iowa.

As a junior, Caulker finished last season with 21.5 tackles, 12.5 TFL, and 4.5 sacks and is equally impressive off the field according to Des Moines North head coach Eric Addy.

"He is a great young man," said Addy. "Hands down, the best teammate I've ever coached. Extremely coachable, physical, and has a relentless pursuit to the ball. He shows up every day wanting to learn and get better."

With a 6-foot-11 wing span, Caulker brings the kind of length that Iowa defensive line coach Kelvin Bell loves to utilize upfront for the Hawkeyes.

"His obvious size and length make him a nightmare for offenses, but it's the things you can't measure that make David special," Addy said. "It couldn't happen to a better young man. He's worked hard for this opportunity and I'm so happy to see him making his dreams come true."

Overall, Caulker is commitment No. 10 for Iowa, joining Marco Lainez, Alex Mota, Maddux Borcherding-Johnson, Chase Brackney, Leighton Jones, Ben Kueter, John Nestor, Zach Lutmer, and Aidan Hall in the Class of 2023 for the Hawkeyes.

See highlights from Caulker in his junior year at Des Moines North in the video below.