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Hawkeyes land new commitment

The Hawkeyes have filled a number of crucial needs in the 2010 recruiting class, but the one glaring one still on the board was at the wide receiver position. This weekend, the Iowa coaching staff brought in Kevonte Martin-Manley, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound wideout from Michigan, as they looked to shore things up at the position.

As Martin-Manley, who was previously committed to Bowling Green, left Iowa City today, it appears that the Hawkeyes have found their wide receiver.

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"I just committed to Iowa," said Martin-Manley.

This morning, Martin-Manley received a scholarship offer from Iowa during a meeting with wide receivers coach Erik Campbell and head coach Kirk Ferentz. The two-star prospect had a pretty good idea that it was coming however, so it did not take him long to accept.

"I kind of knew they were going to offer, so I had a chance to think about it the whole time I was there," Martin-Manley said. "It's an opportunity to play in the Big Ten, be around good people, and I know I'm going to develop better as a player there than I would at any other program. Also, playing for Coach Campbell, I think I'll have a better chance of playing in the NFL because he's coached some of the best."

In September, Martin-Manley verbally committed to Bowling Green over scholarship offers from Toledo and Central Michigan. A big senior year where he caught 43 passes for 745 yards and 10 touchdowns for Brother Rice High School drew recruiting interest from a number of other schools though, including Iowa. While the official visit did not automatically mean he was going to change his verbal pledge this weekend, Martin-Manley said it did not take long for him to see the benefits of going to Iowa.

"To be honest, I was just planning to take the trip and see how it goes, but I kind of doubted if I'd change," said Martin-Manley. "But then I got there and I was like, wow, this is great. It's a great chance for me to be a part of big-time football and also get a better opportunity to play in the NFL, which has always been my dream."

HawkeyeReport.com will have much more on Martin-Manley and his decision later this afternoon.

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