Hawkeyes land Ohio quarterback

Ohio quarterback Rick Stanzi has given a verbal commitment to the University of Iowa. The 6-foot-4, 193-pound Stanzi made an official visit to Iowa City last month and has known since that time where he wants to play college football.

"Rick's a Hawkeye," said Rick's father, Joe Stanzi. "He's known really ever since he got back from the visit that it was the right place for him. We kind of just sat on things for awhile and then confirmed it with the coaches last night that Rick would play at Iowa. Coach O'Keefe was in town on Thursday night, then Coach Ferentz called later that night and we called him again yesterday just to verify. It's a done deal."

Stanzi was hosted on his December 16 visit to Iowa City by freshman wide receiver Trey Stross, who is also from the Cleveland area. According to his father, the quarterback liked the mix of academics and football that he saw at the University of Iowa.

"When he went there, he just had a great comfort level with the coaches, the players, and the academics," Joe Stanzi said. "It's a great environment for him because they're very receptive of the student-athlete."

As a senior, Stanzi completed 156 of 259 passes for 2,170 yards and 21 touchdowns. The progress that the signal caller showed in his final year of high school led to scholarship offers from Iowa and Purdue, among others this fall. According to Stanzi's father, the Iowa coaches have already had discussions with the family about the quarterback's next couple of years as a Hawkeye.

"Rick feels he'll be redshirted," said Joe Stanzi. "They've already had a long discussion about what will be the best for his development. Rick still needs to add a good 20 pounds, which will probably be an easy deal for them because their strength program and its reputation is very strong. Rick's a certified gym rat in terms of his training, so we think that's going to be a nice match."

When the family made their visit to Iowa in December, they were also able to take in one of the Hawkeyes' bowl practices. They liked what they saw in terms of the coaching staff's dedication to developing younger players.

"When we went there, we saw that they had extra time at the end of practice that was spent developing their younger talent," Joe Stanzi said. "Coach Ferentz, it seems is a stickler about that and feels the way to build a good program is to continue to develop the young talent. We think that's why they've been so successful while he's been there and that can only help Rick."

Of course, it is hard to mention Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz this time of year without thinking about the rumors out there with every NFL job that opens up. Joe Stanzi said that was something they talked about as a family and factored it in to their decision.

"Coach Ferentz told me face to face that he likes the situation at Iowa," said Joe Stanzi. "I understand those things can change, but sometimes all you can do is sit around and wonder. I mean every coach is on the hot seat at some point. It's kind of more of a benefit that NFL franchises look at Coach Ferentz every year than the alternative. It happened last year, it's going to happen next year, and it's going to continue to happen. Whether we play for him for one year or four or five years, Rick's going to be fine with it. When he makes a decision, he's very focused about following through. Obviously, we hope Coach Ferentz is there for Rick's entire time. Right now, I think he's very committed to Iowa and that's the impression we got and it obviously played an important role in the decision."

Another important factor in the decision was the relationship with the assistant coaches, particularly Ken O'Keefe, who is not only the lead recruiter for Stanzi, but will also be his quarterback coach and offensive coordinator for the next five years. The family appreciated the way Iowa went about recruiting their son.

"Iowa has just been tremendous in recruiting Rick," Joe Stanzi said. "They started very early and were very methodical. Everything from the strength coach to the assistants to the facilities, there was a comfort level there. As a parent, I'm comfortable with whatever they're going to do with him. I think that's one of the reasons he picked Iowa. We'll put it in their hands because their integrity is great. At Iowa, he just really felt that strong commitment there."

Now that the decision is out of the way, Stanzi, who earned district offensive player of the year honors this season, is ready to get to work, according to his father.

"If it was up to Rick, it wouldn't even be announced," said Joe Stanzi. "He's just ready to get to work and ready to be a Hawkeye."