Recruits visiting for Iowa's spring scrimmage
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The Iowa Hawkeyes will be opening up Kinnick Stadium for their final practice of the spring on Saturday and that means recruits can once again be among those in attendance even during a dead period.
In this update, we take a closer look at the top names expected to make the trip to Iowa City, where the Hawkeyes currently stand in their recruiting, and much more.
A 6-foot-7, 300-pound 15-year old sophomore, Kadyn Proctor is the next big thing. That has actually been the case for some time now, but the four-star prospect saw his recruitment go up another level after being named the top offensive lineman in the nation in the Class of 2023 and adding new scholarship offers from Alabama, Georgia, LSU, USC, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Miami, and Ole Miss in recent months. In all, Proctor currently holds 21 offers, which of course includes Iowa, where he will be this Saturday. Proctor, who wears #74 in honor of his favorite player Tristan Wirfs, told us he looks forward to catching up with former teammates Isaiah Wagner and Gavin Williams this weekend in addition to watching the Hawkeyes at work in spring practice.
Southeast Polk teammate Xavier Nwankpa a top 100 prospect in the Class of 2022, will also be in Iowa City this weekend. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Nwankpa has been on campus several times before, but not since the pandemic started over a year ago so it will be an important step for the Hawkeyes in his recruitment. Nwankpa will be arriving on Friday night to spend time with the Iowa players, including Wagner and Williams, and then attending practice Saturday morning. This January, Nwankpa named a top 12 of Iowa, Iowa State, Ohio State, Clemson, Penn State, Texas, Notre Dame, LSU, Nebraska, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Arizona State from his list of 30 scholarship offers. To date, he has scheduled official visits to Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Texas A&M in June.
Wide receiver Eian Pugh is verbally committed to Cincinnati, but remains in close contact with the Iowa coaching staff and hopes to visit on Saturday to watch the Hawkeyes at work in spring practice. The 6-foot-4, 170-pound Pugh also plans to return for an official visit to Iowa City on June 25 and will also be visiting Illinois and Cincinnati in June as well as he continues to work towards making a final decision.
Defensive end Kyson Van Vugt will be making the drive across the state to visit Iowa City on Saturday. The 6-foot-7, 225-pound Van Vugt does not currently have a scholarship offer from the Hawkeyes, but is staying in close contact with defensive line coach Kelvin Bell, who really likes his upside as a former basketball player that is relatively new to the gridiron. To date, Van Vugt has offers from Eastern Michigan and South Dakota.
Finally, also making the trip on Saturday will be a group of Iowa's 2021 signees including Cooper DeJean, Beau Stephens, and Gennings Dunker. Those players, who never had a chance to make an official visit due to the pandemic, will get to watch some of the members of their recruiting class that enrolled early at work in practice this spring - a group that includes Keagan Johnson, Arland Bruce, Connor Colby, David Davidkov, Justice Sullivan, and Zach Twedt.
Stay with HawkeyeReport.com for the latest news on Iowa football recruiting.