Ekakitie talks Iowa

Four-star defensive lineman Faith Ekakitie is taking the unique approach of writing about all of his experiences during the recruiting process on his blog at www.faithflex.com This week, the topic was his interest in Iowa as the 6-foot-3, 285-pound Ekakitie explained what he likes about the Hawkeyes that puts them in his top six among dozens of other scholarship offers.

Here are some of Ekakitie's comments on the Hawkeyes, his visit to Iowa City earlier this year, and much more.

"Before I go into the endless positives of Iowa, I'm going to say, I was a little disappointed with the location only because I'm very much a fan of the big city," wrote Ekakitie. "However, after the visit, I could sort of envision myself being able to live in a small tight-knit community like that. It definitely brings an increased sense of security and a family-like atmosphere to Iowa City as a whole."

"One of the greatest positives to the University of Iowa just might be their coaching staff led by Coach Ferentz," he continued. "I was extremely impressed when they told me that every member of their staff has been there for about 10 years or more, and from the looks of it, none of them seemed like they planned on leaving any time soon. As a player, knowing that the coaches that recruited me would also be there for the next 4 or 5 years while I'm playing at their University is extremely reassuring, especially if these coaches are people that you feel like you can trust already."

"Another positive that may intrigue a lot of d-line prospects interested in attending Iowa is the fact that for the past 6 years (I think), every single senior that has started for them on the defensive line has gone on to be drafted to the NFL. So for those d-linemen aspiring to a football career after college, Iowa is definitely the place to be in the Midwest. It seems like coach Rick Kaczenski has a method to his madness, but it has worked so far."

"The thing that most intrigued me (aside from their superior strength and conditioning program) was the kind of athletes they recruit at Iowa. Iowa may be one of the only schools that I've talked to that recruits undersized players. They have extended scholarship offers to a number of prospects that would have been considered to have less potential by other schools. They have even extended scholarships to kids who were not being recruited at all, and the best part about this is that all of these players end up being great players in the end that are competing with the very best in the Big 10. I actually got a chance to sit down and talk with a few of their linemen, and they made me feel right at home. I could just sense that a lot of these players had a chip on their shoulders. That combination of over-determined players, great coaching, and an overall exceptional football program is probably what has made the University of Iowa so successful so far."

"Bottom Line is, the University of Iowa does not have many negatives to it, and I definitely cannot wait to get back down to Iowa City for an official visit. Until then, I have to take care of my business in the class and on the field. Once again, thanks for reading, and stay posted!"

For more from Faith Ekakitie, you can visit his blog at http://www.faithflex.com.

After picking up more than thirty scholarship offers early on in the recruiting process, Ekakitie has narrowed his choices down to six schools, which are Iowa, Northwestern, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Oregon, and UCLA.