Signing Day Spotlight: DL

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The Hawkeyes added two talented defensive linemen with their first two commitments in the class with Aaron Graves out of Iowa and Caden Crawford out of Kansas and then one more late in Chicago native Brian Allen Jr. who attends prep school in Connecticut.

In-state defensive lineman Aaron Graves gave the Hawkeyes the earliest commitment we have ever seen for football when he accepted their offer on the spot after a camp in June following his freshman year of high school. Since then, Graves has grown into a 6-foot-5, 270-pounder that will come in nearly college ready from day one.

A four-star prospect, Graves will play in the All-American Bowl in San Antonio in January and was named the 2021 Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Iowa.

As a senior, Graves led Southeast Valley to a state championship, finishing the season with 63 tackles, 14 TFL, and 7.5 sacks. He is now in the midst of a busy winter season where he stars in both basketball and wrestling for Southeast Valley.

See highlights from Graves' senior year in the video below.

Kansas defensive end Caden Crawford was Iowa's second overall commit, giving his verbal pledge on February 17, 2021, choosing the Hawkeyes over scholarship offers from Kansas State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, and Minnesota.

Playing linebacker in high school, Crawford finished his senior season with 103 tackles and 17 TFL this year for Lansing High School.

An early enrollee, he plans will be starting classes at Iowa in January and joining the Hawkeyes for spring practice in 2022.

See highlights from Crawford's senior year in the video below.

Four-star defensive end Brian Allen Jr. joined Iowa's recruiting class on signing day.

The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Allen had initially committed to Illinois in August, but reopened his recruiting in October and had narrowed his choices down to Iowa and Oregon in recent weeks. Other scholarship offers for Allen included West Virginia, Purdue, Iowa State, Virginia Tech, Kansas, Connecticut, Arkansas State, and most of the MAC schools.

See highlights from Allen's senior year in the video below.

Stay with HawkeyeReport.com for the latest on Iowa football recruiting.