In normal times, Joe Labas would have enjoyed his junior season on the baseball diamond with his Brecksville-Broadview Heights teammates and then head out on the college camp circuit in June and look to impress college football coaches.
Covid-19 put all those plans on hold, so the 6-foot-3 and 190 pound quarterback had to do what a good signal caller does, he called an audible and come up with another plan.
“It was certainly different. I couldn’t go to camps or take campus visits, but thankfully, Iowa offered and now I am 100% committed to the Hawkeyes,” he said Friday night.
Of course, nothing about this recruiting process has been normal and it wasn’t for the Ohio native. Initially he committed to Ball State on May 11th before Iowa jumped in on May 20th. Labas then made a trip to Iowa City in early June and flipped to the Hawkeyes shortly after the unconventional visit.
“When we got there on the visit, we did a Face Time with Coach O’Keefe and he kind of guided us around Kinnick Stadium on the outside and things like that. He told us to go over to the Kinnick statue and we took some pictures there.”
At the end of the day, the opportunity to play for the Hawkeyes and in the Big Ten was simply too big of a chance to turn down for Labas.
“It was really tough because I have a lot of respect for the Ball State coaches, but this was the right decision for me and my future,” he said. “My dad is a big fan of Kirk Ferentz and he’s a great coach and knows what he’s doing and I really like Coach O’Keefe, who will be my position coach.”
Since making his commitment to Iowa, Labas has continued to build relationships with his fellow 2021 Iowa commitments. Like any good quarterback, he’s jumped into their group text chat and started trying to become a leader and even doing a little potential recruiting.
“I’m doing what I can to be a leader, but I’m also one of the new guys in that group,” Labas said. “I actually haven’t met any of the guys personally, but I was trying to get Arland (Bruce) to come here for his senior season.”
On Friday night, Labas and his teammates came up short in their first home game of the season, falling to Hutson, 38-28. But, the senior signal caller played well, completing 26-37 passes for 307 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for one score and 53 total yards in the game.
He also showed a few battle scars from the game with small cuts over his eye and kept the game in perspective knowing there are some high schools not playing this fall.
“There are still a lot of teams out there that aren’t playing and we are fortunate enough to be out there and able to compete and make the playoffs.”
While the high school season will be a bit unconventional in Ohio with just six regular season games and every school making the playoffs, Labas is also keep his eye on the future and that could include arriving early in Iowa City.
“I’m looking at possibly graduating early,” he said following the game Friday night. “Some of it will depend on what ends up happening with the Big Ten and what they do with their season, so I am kind of playing it by ear.”
One thing he’s not getting from Iowa regarding that decision is pressure one way or another. The Hawkeye coaches have traditionally encouraged commitments to make their own decision when it comes to enrolling early and that’s the approach they have taking with Labas.
“We have talked about it multiple times and they always tell me it’s all up to me. They don’t put any pressure on me at all.”
