Five-star DB Xavier Nwankpa commits to Iowa

Five-star safety Xavier Nwankpa is going to be a Hawkeye. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Nwankpa officially announced his commitment to Iowa today in a press conference at Southeast Polk High School.

Nwankpa chose Iowa over finalists Ohio State and Notre Dame. During the recruiting process, he also earned scholarship offers from Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, LSU, Oklahoma, Clemson, Texas, Texas A&M, Arizona State, Florida, Florida State, Oregon, USC, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Minnesota, Michigan State, Missouri, Penn State, Kentucky, and Iowa State, among others.

Currently ranked No. 20 in the Rivals250 for 2022, Nwankpa is the highest rated recruit to come out of the state of Iowa in more than 20 years, although it is a record that will likely be broken by his high school teammate Kadyn Proctor a year from now.

Overall, Nwankpa is commitment No. 12 for Iowa, joining Aaron Graves, Carson May, Jaziun Patterson, Kaleb Johnson, Caden Crawford, Jack Dotzler, Jayden Montgomery, Kale Krogh, Jacob Bostick, Addison Ostrenga, and Cael Vanderbush in the Class of 2022 for the Hawkeyes.

Nwankpa, who plans to enroll at Iowa at semester next month, will be playing in the All-American Bowl in San Antonio on January 8. The game, televised by NBC, will feature both Nwankpa and Graves on the West team facing the East in a 12 PM CT kickoff.

As a senior, Nwankpa led Southeast Polk to its first state title in school history, finishing the season with 26 tackles and four interceptions on defense, 33 catches for 391 yards and five touchdowns on offense, and 307 return yards and one touchdown on special teams.

See highlights from Nwankpa's senior year at Southeast Polk in the video below.