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Niemann adds Iowa offer

For the most part, Ben Niemann grew up in the state of Iowa, mostly in Indianola when his father, Jay, was the head coach at Simpson College. Now, his dad is the defensive coordinator at Northern Illinois, which is where Ben verbally committed to early on in the recruiting process. This past week, things got a little more interesting when the Iowa Hawkeyes decided to offer Niemann after seeing him in person at their camp on Wednesday. That was followed up by a two-day visit to Iowa City and now the 6-foot-3, 185-pound Niemann has a lot to think about. We caught up with him to get the very latest.

Q: First, can you just talk about the visit to Iowa over the weekend? What were some of the highlights for you?

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NIEMANN: Well, first of all, I went to their camp on Wednesday and then they offered. Then I went to the visit on Friday and when we first got there, we ate dinner in the indoor facility. I went with some of the players and spent some time with them before going back to the hotel. On Saturday, we came back and toured all of the facilities and everything. We went around campus a little bit and ate lunch and then went back home. It was good.

Q: Was it outside linebacker you played at their camp?

NIEMANN: Yeah. Originally, I went to camp as kind of an athlete. They didn't really have any scholarship spots at receiver, but they had seen my film and stuff and thought I was athletic enough to play other positions. So I was going to go as either a safety or a linebacker. I started out with the linebackers and I was doing well enough there I guess that they just decided to keep me there for the rest of camp and then I ended up getting an offer.

Q: Is that your second offer overall or do you have more?

NIEMANN: That's my fourth. At receiver, I have offers from NIU, Eastern Michigan, and Illinois State, and then Iowa offered me as a LEO outside linebacker.

Q: After their camp, did you spend some time back in Indianola for a couple days?

NIEMANN: Yeah. I actually met two of my friends from Indianola at the Iowa camp, so we went back and then I came back to Iowa on Friday with Keegan Render. I met my mom there on Friday.

Q: What was that like, spending some time with Keegan who you went to school with for quite a while, just knowing you both have offers at Iowa now?

NIEMANN: Yeah, we went to school together from kindergarten to sixth grade and played on the same peewee football team. He was the center and I was the quarterback. It's kind of nice to know that if I would choose to go there that I would have a close friend like that on the team, but obviously Keegan is not going to be my deciding factor on where I go to play ball.

Q: What were just your initial thoughts on getting the offer from Iowa?

NIEMANN: It was exciting because it was my first BCS offer and stuff. Even though it is at a position I'm not as familiar with because I've never played it before, it's still exciting and it's something I'm going to have to consider.

Q: Will that play a role as far as what position you might play?

NIEMANN: Well, I've only actually played receiver for two years. I had always played quarterback up until my freshman year. When I moved to Sycamore, we had a quarterback that is now at North Dakota, so they had me play receiver and I ended up just staying there because I helped our team. So I've only played that for two years. But I guess that will have a little bit to do with it, but not too much. I mean I'm open to playing whatever.

Q: Obviously you committed to Northern Illinois and your dad is the defensive coordinator there. How do you kind of process all of that now as you re-evaluate things?

NIEMANN: It's tough because I mean I've always kind of wanted to play for my dad. He hasn't been able to coach me really with football. With other sports he has, but with football he's always been coaching. Now that a bigger offer has come, it's tough. It's just something that I'm going to have to sit down with my family and discuss. I haven't really had a chance to do that too much because I've only been back home for a short amount of time.

Q: Did Iowa kind of tell you to take your time or what did they say?

NIEMANN: Yeah. The coaches were all really good about that. My dad even knows some of the coaches just through previous jobs and through other people. They didn't put any pressure on me at all. I mean they just said, "Take your time and make a decision that's best for you." They were really respectable and good about that whole situation.

Q: Your dad actually played at Iowa State right?

NIEMANN: Yeah, he played linebacker there.

Q: Is that another dynamic in all of this if you were to go to Iowa?

NIEMANN: No, not at all really. Both of my parents went to Iowa State, so I kind of grew up an Iowa State fan I guess, but that wouldn't really be a factor in my decision. I've never like hated Iowa like some of the crazy diehard fans out there. That won't be a factor in my decision.

Q: Is there a certain point where you kind of want to know what you're doing or could you wait until the fall and take official visits?

NIEMANN: I don't want to wait forever. I mean I'm done going to camps and everything now. I'm not going anywhere else. I kind of know that it's NIU or Iowa at this point. I don't want to wait it out too long.

Q: There is a whole set of things for you to consider. Is it going to come down to comfort level or what do you think it will come down to?

NIEMANN: Yeah, there are a lot of things. Comfort level is one. Obviously since I've been at NIU with my dad the last two years, I've been around it a lot with him so I'm very comfortable there, but I was also very comfortable at Iowa. That was actually the first time I've been down to Iowa's campus and everything and the camp was the first time I've ever been in Kinnick, so I mean I just kind of want to get more familiar with them and feel out the situation and stuff.

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