Urbandale athlete Harrison Waylee continues to keep an eye on the University of Iowa during the recruiting process and was in Iowa City for their victory over Rutgers on Saturday. We caught up with the Northern Illinois commit afterwards for an update.
Q: How was your trip to Iowa yesterday overall?
WAYLEE: It was great. I had an awesome time experiencing what a college football day is like. The hospitality that they provide was great but walking on the field was mind blowing. It felt awesome looking around and seeing all the people that come and support the Hawkeyes. My favorite part was when we were going through their facilities, I enjoyed how well made and big their lifting facility is. I loved how their coach staff cares a lot about you as individual.
Q: You mentioned the facilities. Why were those so special to you?
WAYLEE: To me, the facilities are where I'm going to be at most of the time to perfect my craft to be a better player so seeing a nice facility like those at Iowa wowed me.
Q: What was your schedule during the day?
WAYLEE: We checked in and had breakfast. After breakfast, we had a tour of their facilities and then we watched highlight tapes from their first game. Then we had a tour of their field during pre-game while the players were on the field. Before kickoff, the recruits were spoken to by one of the Iowa coaches. The coach that spoke to us was Coach Niemann.
Q: Which coaches did you talk with most and how were those interactions?
WAYLEE: Coach Niemann and their recruiting coordinator, Tyler Barnes. They made me feel welcome and made me feel like that their Hawkeye family was something really special.
Q: How do you feel about the Iowa program?
WAYLEE: It's a great program.
Q: How would you describe the experience of a game day trip at Iowa?
WAYLEE: It was first ever college game and to experience it the way I did was amazing. It just felt a surge of energy from all the fans. It made me want to wear a jersey. It was awesome.
Q: Did or has Iowa said anything about how they feel about you as a recruit overall?
WAYLEE: No, they haven't.
Q: What type of attention has Iowa been showing you as of late?
WAYLEE: They really haven't been keeping much of an eye on me but from time to time I'll have a conversation with Coach Niemann about football and my week. And they'll send me letter every week telling me good luck this week.
Q: Did Iowa stop recruiting you at all after you committed or has it remained steady?
WAYLEE: It remained steady. They didn't cut me off after I committed, but in fact invited me as a recruit to one of their games.
Q: Are any other schools still recruiting you as well?
WAYLEE: Iowa State invited me to the Cy-Hawk game as recruit, so I assume they still somewhat have an interest in me.
Q: What does your visit schedule look like going forward?
WAYLEE: I don't have really any schools lined up for a visit besides Iowa State on Saturday, but when the opportunity, hits I'm going to take it.
Q: What are the next steps with Iowa? Are you trying to visit again? Are you going to send in your video from this season?
WAYLEE: Yeah, I'm going try to visit again and will most definitely send in my video while letting the coaches know that my talents and skills could be a great addition.
Q: Where they are recruiting you at position wise?
WAYLEE: They didn't really specify, but I'm an athlete so whatever position they want to recruit me for I will work hard to be great at it.
Q: How is the high school season going as of late?
WAYLEE: I have had a bad start with our first game against Johnston and tweaking my ankle caused me not to play my second game. I'm going to be back, and I plan on changing everything around and starting off new.
Q: How is your ankle now?
WAYLEE: I am recovering quickly and am almost to 100% percent.