Hawkeyes getting a good one in Reames
On Wednesday night, in-state defensive end Chris Reames gave his verbal commitment to the Hawkeyes one day after picking up a scholarship offer from the Iowa coaching staff. Afterwards, we caught up with his head coach at Van Meter, Eric Trudo, to find out what kind of player the Hawkeyes are getting and much more.
Q: What type of player has he been for you?
TRUDO: I think he just is a true team player. He does everything we have wanted him to do, whether that is on defense, offense, or special teams. He has completely bought into the team concept. He understands his job and his role. He has not allowed any outside noise to cause him to get sidetracked.
Q: What would say are his main strengths now?
TRUDO: I think just his length and understanding of how to use his leverage to his advantage. He has also worked really hard to improve his strength, especially in his lower half.
Q: What will he be working on most going forward to get ready for college?
TRUDO: I think he’ll continue to work on his strength and just filling out. If d-line is where he’ll end up playing, he’ll need to put on some weight. He will continue to do that and work on his speed, quickness, and all facets of the game.
Q: How has he been as a leader?
TRUDO: He has been outstanding. He is a leader in the weight room, leader in the off-season, leader on the practice field, leader in games, and is a leader in the classroom. He takes care of his business in the classroom. He has a fine ACT score and he has really set a good example for younger kids to follow.
Q: What prompted Iowa to end up offering earlier this week?
TRUDO: I think it was just the consistency of play he has had over the last two seasons along with how he has progressed and matured. There has been a continual interest from about middle of season last year. I can’t really speak of what ultimately led them to offering other than he was consistent game in and game out.
Q: How has it been interacting with the Iowa coaches during the recruiting process?
TRUDO: Coach Morgan is just the utmost professional. I really have a lot of respect for him and what he has meant to the game for the state of Iowa all the way back to Benton and Iowa City West. Coach Morgan is a class act and so is the entire Hawkeye coaching staff. They represent the state of Iowa and do it the right way from the beginning.
Q: How big is Chris height and weight wise now?
TRUDO: 6-foot-7, 220 to 225 pounds.
Q: Have they specified he will be playing defensive end?
TRUDO: The indication I received from Chris is the offer is to play defensive line as a defensive end.
Q: What other colleges were interested?
TRUDO: I know Army. He had a nice visit out there right before the season started. They were definitely in the picture. I believe all the FCS schools, especially those in the Missouri Valley, made offers to him.
Q: When did you see his potential to be a talented football player?
TRUDO: He has been at Van Meter since he was in elementary school and has grown leaps and bounds, especially over these last three years. He was one of those long, lengthy kids as a freshman. You didn’t know if he would fill into that body. You could start seeing he was figuring out things and had a big jump from his sophomore to junior year. His work ethic is what showed that he wanted to do this. When the kid takes ownership of the process and development, that is when you know they can be special.
Q: Did he play varsity early in his high school career?
TRUDO: He didn’t really as a freshman and was a backup as a sophomore. He didn’t become a starter until last year as a junior.
Along with Iowa, Reames earned scholarship offers from Eastern Michigan, Army, Air Force, Cornell, North Dakota State, North Dakota, Indiana State, Illinois State, UNI, South Dakota, South Dakota State, and Stephen F. Austin during the recruiting process.
Overall, the Van Meter native is commitment No. 16 for the Hawkeyes as he joins Ezra Miller, Logan Lee, Tyler Endres, Noah Fenske, Jack Campbell, Sebastian Castro, Jestin Jacobs, Desmond Hutson, Jake Karchinski, Alex Padilla, Jalen Hunt, Dane Belton, Justin Britt, Tyler Goodson, and Josiah Miamen in Iowa's recruiting class of 2019.
As a senior, Reames has 58 tackles and 8 TFL during Van Meter's 10-0 run so far this season. This week, they play West Branch in the state quarterfinals in Class 1A.
See highlights from Reames' senior year in the video below.