Paschal Excited To Be A Hawkeye
The phrase "It's great to be a Hawkeye" is used a lot by the Iowa faithful. Excitement in their football and basketball programs is natural for many native Iowans. But when you hear that excitement coming from high school preps who come from another time zone, it gives new meaning to the slogan.
Iowa's latest verbal commitment is Marcus Paschal, a 6-0, 175-pound defensive back from Largo, Florida. He runs the forty-yard dash in under 4.5 seconds and just completed his first season on the defensive side of the football. But Iowa was impressed with what they saw on film to the point where they offered Marcus a scholarship.
"Iowa started recruiting me in late November," and excited Paschal told HN.com on the phone this evening. "My high school coach does a good job of getting tapes into colleges and when Iowa saw my tape, they called me and told me they were surprised that Florida or Florida State were not recruiting me."
"I always felt like I could play at a big school and Iowa is giving me that chance."
Paschal has already qualified academically and was recruiting by Iowa defensive backs coach Phil Parker. He also visited Iowa this past weekend and came away impressed.
"I really enjoyed my trip to Iowa," Paschal said. "I was able to hang out with several of the Florida players that Iowa has and I loved the coaches and the facilities." Paschal mentioned that he spent a lot of time with sophomore cornerback Benny Sapp during his visit.
Hofstra, Troy State and Georgia Southern had offered Paschal a scholarship as well.
Paschal said he has played football since he was nine years old and feels he has a lot to bring to the table.
"I am a very hard worker and I always strive to be the best in everything I do," Paschal said. "I feel that I have a lot of upside on defense, since it was still a relatively new thing for me this year. I am just very glad Iowa saw the things in me that I already know I possess."
He played free-safety in high school, but says that Iowa is not limiting him to one defensive back position over another at this time.
He also played quarterback for Largo, guiding them to an 8-2 record this past season and a district championship.
Paschal also runs the 110-meter high hurdles and the 4x100 relay for the track team.
He plans to come to Iowa in late July.