The Iowa Hawkeyes have landed a verbal commitment from junior college defensive tackle Anterio Thompson. The 6-foot-2, 295-pound Thompson announced his decision tonight right at midnight to celebrate his 20th birthday.
"I've got my birthday, my commitment, and a game this weekend, so there are a lot of emotions but most of all I'm just excited," said Thompson. "To say I'm going to be a Division I athlete is just mind-blowing. It's something you dream about."
Thompson, who picked up a scholarship offer from Iowa on Monday, chose the Hawkeyes over Illinois, Nebraska, NC State, Kansas, Washington State, Memphis, Houston, Costal Carolina, UNLV, Liberty, Arkansas State, Utah State, Buffalo, Eastern Michigan, Western Kentucky, and South Dakota.
"It was the offer I was waiting on," Thompson said. "After it came, I talked to my mother and my d-line coach about where the best fit was and how stressful the recruiting process can be, so I just thought there was no point in waiting a long time when I already know what the best fit is going to be."
Playing a big role in Iowa's recruitment was defensive line coach Kelvin Bell, who Thompson credits with helping him through the recruiting process even before the Hawkeyes decided to offer.
"Talking with Coach Bell, it's like he just talks to me man to man and tells me how it is," said Thompson. "I appreciate him being real with me about the recruiting process because I'm new to all this. I don't have anyone in my family that's gone to college and played sports, so he's taught me a lot about the process and has always been straight up with me. He's a great coach and has coached a bunch of players in the league too."
A Dubuque Hempstead graduate in 2021, Thompson enrolled at Iowa Western Community College and redshirted his first year on campus so still has three years of eligibility remaining. Right now, his plan is to graduate from Iowa Western in December and enroll at the University of Iowa at semester in January of 2023.
"I just I want to get into the program, give 100% effort, and hopefully make an impact," said Thompson. "The ultimate goal is to make the starting lineup, but if I don't I still have three years of eligibility left. I just want to go into Iowa and give it my all.
Overall, Thompson is commitment No. 17 for Iowa, joining Kadyn Proctor, Trevor Lauck, Kahlil Tate, Marco Lainez, Alex Mota, Maddux Borcherding-Johnson, Chase Brackney, Leighton Jones, Ben Kueter, John Nestor, Zach Lutmer, Aidan Hall, David Caulker, Cannon Leonard, Zach Ortwerth, and Kenneth Merrieweather in the Class of 2023 for the Hawkeyes.
A three-star prospect, Thompson ran a 4.61 forty at Nebraska's camp in June and currently has 17 tackles, 5.5 TFL, and four sacks this season through seven games for Iowa Western.
See Thompson's mid-season highlights in the video below.
