Shannon is a force inside at DT

Oswego defensive tackle Noah Shannon dominated at the high school level and is excited to take those skills to college. We caught up with his head coach, Brian Cooney, and talked to him about what the Hawkeyes are getting at the next level.

Q: What type of player has he been for you?

COONEY: He is someone that is extremely disruptive to the offense that we go against.

Q: What are his main strengths?

COONEY: He has multiple ways about him I guess you’d say. He has a power game where he can take on and defeat double teams. When given a one-on-one situation, nine times out of ten he is winning that battle. He is extremely athletic and can turn that on during games as well. He can turn the corner and track down players.

Q: What is he working on as an athlete?

COONEY: I think when he arrives, they’ll shape him into what they want. They may rearrange his weight to get him what they want. They’ll make him to what they want. He will continue to work on his flexibility, strength, speed, and explosiveness.

Q: How is he as a leader?

COONEY: He is good. He was selected a captain for his junior and senior years. Our captain process asks the kids to elect who they want. It is after the kids come up and give a little talk. Then it is a voting process. After they get past the coaches, they have to show their leadership qualities. He was identified by his peers as a captain.

Q: How did the recruiting process go for him overall?

COONEY: Iowa was not necessarily the first school that expressed interested in. He had a lot of interest being a three-year starter. His junior year, he quickly showed that he had elevated his game to another level. Many schools came through and showed him interest. Iowa was the first one to offer. Coach Ferentz recruits this area and he talked to a lot of other area high school coaches about him. They speak highly of him. He recruits honest and down to Earth. He is not trying to make Iowa football something it is not. He does a great job talking about all aspects of Iowa football. I think that hit home with Noah and he appreciated it.

Q: Are other schools still recruiting him?

COONEY: No. I think once he declared for Iowa, he was done. I still get mail here and there but some of the mail is from schools that didn’t offer. It did come to a screeching halt because he was so comfortable at Iowa.

Q: How was it dealing with the Iowa coaches in recruiting?

COONEY: They are phenomenal. All of the schools that come through do a great job, but they do it differently. Coach Ferentz has his style and way. There are no gimmicks. It is just down to Earth and these are the facts. This is who we are. He did a good job expressing that to Noah and the positives to become a Hawkeye.

Q: Where does he project out at the college level?

COONEY: I think he will definitely fit in somewhere on the defensive line. That is his home and where they project him to be. Again, they’ll put him in as soon as they are ready. They have talked a lot about getting guys to that level by competing and preparing in the weight room. They put high emphasis on that.

A three-star prospect, Shannon committed to Iowa in July, choosing the Hawkeyes over scholarship offers from Minnesota, Arkansas, Missouri, Michigan State, Purdue, Duke, Virginia, Iowa State, Kansas State, Memphis, Cincinnati, Rutgers, Syracuse, and Washington State, among others.

As a senior, Shannon finished the season with 46 tackles, 15 TFL, and 8 sacks this year for Oswego High School in Illinois.