Iowa's big official visit weekend is finally here
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The Iowa Hawkeyes' big official visit weekend is finally here.
When the recruiting calendar opened back up again this month, the Iowa coaching staff was quick to target their traditional last weekend of June to bring in all of their top names to campus at the same time. Doing so gives the Hawkeyes the last official visit for each prospect before the July dead period begins, but it also led to a few cancellations along the way as some recruits have already made their decisions after earlier visits this month. Still, the Hawkeyes have a big group of 14 official visitors coming in this weekend, plus two key unofficial visitors as well. In this update, we take a closer look at all the recruits and what they are looking forward to seeing, where the Hawkeyes currently stand in their recruiting, and much more.
Running back Aidan Laughery will be making his first visit to Iowa City this weekend, so there is a lot to see and do as he continues to learn more about the Hawkeyes, who offered this past spring.
"I’m looking forward to finally meeting the coaches and getting to see the facilities and what the campus and town is like," Laughery told HawkeyeReport.com.
Laughery, who has legit speed with a best of 10.58 in the 100-meter dash, has made official visits to Illinois and Washington State prior to Iowa. In addition to those three, he he also holds scholarship offers from Michigan State, Minnesota, Rutgers, Buffalo, and Illinois State. Right now, Laughery is targeting a summer decision.
After earning an offer from Iowa this spring, wide receiver Jacob Bostick was able to make an unofficial visit to Iowa City in early June and now will be returning for his official visit with the Hawkeyes.
"I am looking forward to meeting the others recruits and building relationships with the current players," Bostick told HawkeyeReport.com.
The 6-foot-2, 165-pound Bostick has made official visits to Illinois and Louisville prior to Iowa, and also holds scholarship offers from Pittsburgh, Kansas State, Cincinnati, Army, Navy, Air Force, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, and Northern Illinois, among others.
Four-star tight end Micah Riley-Ducker, who grew up a Hawkeye fan, has been able to visit Iowa City a couple times on his own now, but will be getting the full experience on his official visit this weekend.
"My family and I are most looking forward to spending some time with the coaching staff and getting to see how they are on a day to day basis," Riley-Ducker told HawkeyeReport.com.
Iowa will be the last official visit of the summer for Riley-Ducker after stops at Auburn, Illinois, and Iowa State earlier this month. Those are his top four among a long list of 30 scholarship offers with a decision expected on July 7.
Tight end Andrew Keller was one of the first prospects to visit Iowa this month when the recruiting calendar opened back up, making an unofficial visit with teammate Jack Dotzler on June 2, and now will be returning for his official visit with the Hawkeyes.
The 6-foot-6, 215-pound Wisconsin native has shied away from media attention this month, but made an official visit to Iowa State on June 11 and now has Iowa on June 25. Other scholarship offers for the three-star prospect include Texas, Michigan State, Indiana, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia, among others.
Wisconsin offensive lineman Carson Hinzman was a frequent visitor to Iowa City early on in the recruiting process, but his official visit this weekend will be a big step for the Hawkeyes as they transition to a new offensive line coach, George Barnett, in 2021.
"I’m looking forward to getting back on campus really and seeing the difference in coaching now since Coach Barnett has come in," Hinzman told HawkeyeReport.com.
A four-star prospect ranked in the Rivals100, Hinzman has made official visits to Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Notre Dame this month prior to Iowa, and also made an unofficial visit to Alabama as well.
Indiana offensive lineman Landen Livingston actually has an aunt, Beth Livingston, that is a professor at the University of Iowa, but the Class of 2022 prospect has never been to Iowa City himself. That will change this weekend for the 6-foot-5, 285-pounder as he will be making his official visit with the Hawkeyes.
"I’m most excited to finally meet the coaching staff," said Livingston. "They are ones that I really have kept in contact with, so I can’t wait to talk to them face to face. I’m also excited to see the campus since I haven’t been out there before."
The trip to Iowa will be Livingston's last official visit after stops at Indiana, Purdue, Cincinnati, and West Virginia earlier this month. Then, it will be decision time for the three-star prospect as he looks to wrap up his recruiting by mid-July if not sooner.
Defensive end Brian Allen Jr. was a new addition to Iowa's visitors list this week, but a player the Hawkeye coaching staff has been watching for a while now. The 6-foot-4, 243-pound Allen is originally from the Chicago area, but now attending prep school in Connecticut at St. Thomas More, which is where former Hawkeye Jason Manson was coaching prior to joining Iowa's staff this spring.
"They have been recruiting me for a long time now. Then they got to see me at Lindenwood Mega Camp and that really sparked their interest," said Allen. "They haven’t offered me yet, but I think they will on my visit."
Currently, Allen's list of scholarship offers includes Illinois, Virginia Tech, Purdue, Iowa State. Kansas, Arkansas State, and several MAC schools. This past week, Allen made an official visit to Illinois and had camp stops at Ohio State, Michigan, and Virginia Tech.
Minneapolis native Chase Carter has been one of Iowa's top targets at defensive end for some time now and will finally be on campus for his official visit with the Hawkeyes this weekend. The 6-foot-6, 215-pound Carter has been staying in close contact with defensive line coach Kelvin Bell and looks forward to learning more about the program.
"I’m looking forward to the atmosphere and culture the most," said Carter. "Also, meeting the coaches and the players."
For Carter, the trip to Iowa will be his third official visit of the month with earlier stops at Iowa State and Michigan State already in the books. He also has a September date set for Nebraska, but could end up making a decision before then if he finds the right fit this summer.
Four-star defensive tackle Hunter Deyo will also make his long awaited official visit with the Hawkeyes this weekend. The 6-foot-2, 292-pound Deyo has been on Iowa's radar for a long time now, landing a scholarship offer his sophomore year as Council Bluffs Lewis Central continues to produce high end Division I talent every year.
"I'm looking forward to meeting with the coaches face to face," said Deyo.
Iowa will be the second official visit for Deyo after touring Iowa State on June 11. He also made unofficial visits to Kansas State and Missouri this summer. Other scholarship offers include Oregon, Arkansas, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Right now, Deyo plans to make a summer decision.
Michigan defensive back Christion Stokes, a long time top target for the Hawkeyes, will be back on campus this weekend for his official visit. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Stokes has been to Iowa City before, but like most prospects that was a long time ago due to the pandemic, so he is interested in seeing more of the campus this time.
"I’ve only seen a little bit of their facilities, so I'm looking forward to getting a closer look at everything," said Stokes.
Currently, Stokes is eyeing a July 10th decision with a top three of Iowa, West Virginia, and Michigan State. Other scholarship offers for the three-star prospect during the recruiting process have included Penn State, Minnesota, Maryland, Cincinnati, Kansas, and Syracuse, among others.
While not an official visit, top in-state recruit Xavier Nwankpa will also be in town this weekend for an unofficial visit. The four-star prospect, who also visited Iowa City on May 1, plans to spend two days on campus as he looks forward to seeing more of the social side of Iowa, meeting with the coaches and players in person, and sitting down with academic advisors as well.
The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Nwankpa has made official visits to Ohio State, Texas A&M, and Notre Dame this month, and also has LSU, Clemson, Arizona State, and Iowa among his seven finalists.
Also making an unofficial visit this weekend will be kicker Drew Stevens from South Carolina. The 6-foot-1, 173-pound Stevens attended Iowa's camp on June 18 where he won the field goal competition and appears to be close to landing a preferred walk-on opportunity from the Hawkeyes.
Stevens, who has the same kicking coach as former Hawkeye Keith Duncan is also considering preferred walk-on opportunities from South Carolina and NC State and scholarship offers from Coastal Carolina and Old Dominion. He is also receiving interest from Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and Maryland, among others.
The Hawkeyes will also have their commits in town this weekend including in-state offensive lineman Kale Krogh, who was the latest to give his verbal pledge to the coaching staff one week ago.
"I'm looking forward to meeting the other guys in my class and the current players at Iowa too," said Krogh.
The 6-foot-6, 267-pound Huxley native chose Iowa over scholarship offers from Minnesota, Tulane, Toledo, Northern Illinois, Miami-OH, Eastern Michigan, Bowling Green, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Dartmouth, Penn, and Northern Iowa.
Wisconsin offensive lineman Jack Dotzler was another new commit for the Hawkeyes this month, as he gave his verbal pledge to the Iowa coaching staff during an unofficial visit the first week of June. Now, the 6-foot-7, 265-pound Dotzler will be returning for his official visit, along with high school teammate Andrew Keller, as the Hawkeyes hope to add him to their Class of 2022 as well.
On June 2, Dotzler committed to Iowa over scholarship offers from Iowa State, Penn State, Indiana, Michigan State, Purdue, Arizona State, Vanderbilt, Harvard, Dartmouth, and North Dakota State, among others.
Defensive end commit Caden Crawford, who took an unofficial visit to Kansas State earlier this month, told us that he is excited to get back on campus at Iowa for his official visit this weekend and finally meet the coaching staff face to face.
"Honestly, I’m just pumped to finally meet the coaching staff in person," said Crawford. "So many texts, calls, and zooms because of COVID. The facilities will all be nice to see as well, but I’m really looking forward to finally meeting the coaches."
In February, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound Crawford verbally committed to Iowa over scholarship offers from Kansas State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, and Minnesota.
Last, but not least, Iowa's very first commit in the Class of 2022, Aaron Graves, will make his official visit this weekend as well. The 6-foot-5, 270-pound Graves has been helping Iowa's recruiting efforts ever since his commitment and is looking forward to being around his future teammates.
"I'm really excited to see the campus and what kind of places I'll be able to go all throughout college," said Graves. "I'm also looking forward to hanging out and getting to know my future and potential teammates."
A Rivals250 prospect, Graves committed to Iowa two years ago after an impressive camp performance following his freshman year of high school.
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OFFICIAL VISITORS
Aidan Laughery - 5-foot-11, 186-pound RB from Gibson City, IL
Jacob Bostick - 6-foot-2, 165-pound WR from Palatine, IL
Micah Riley-Ducker - 6-foot-6, 235-pound TE from Bellevue, NE
Andrew Keller - 6-foot-6, 215-pound TE from Waunakee, WI
Carson Hinzman - 6-foot-5, 280-pound OL from Hammond, WI
Landen Livingston - 6-foot-5, 285-pound OL from Leo, IN
Brian Allen Jr. - 6-foot-4, 243-pound DE from Oakdale, CT
Chase Carter - 6-foot-6, 215-pound DE from Minneapolis, MN
Hunter Deyo - 6-foot-2, 292-pound DT from Council Bluffs, IA
Christion Stokes - 6-foot-1, 180-pound DB from Harper Woods, MI
Kale Krogh - 6-foot-6, 267-pound OL from Huxley, IA (Iowa commit)
Jack Dotzler - 6-foot-7, 265-pound OL from Waunakee, IA (Iowa commit)
Caden Crawford - 6-foot-5, 240-pound DE from Lansing, KS (Iowa commit)
Aaron Graves - 6-foot-5, 270-pound DL from Gowrie, IA (Iowa commit)
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UNOFFICIAL VISITORS
Xavier Nwankpa - 6-foot-2, 185-pound DB from Pleasant Hill, IA
Drew Stevens - 6-foot-1, 173-pound K from North Augusta, SC
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One last thing to keep an eye on this weekend will be Iowa's final camp of the month, which will take place on Sunday. Some names to watch there include Jahsiah Galvan, Keith Moko, Mikey Pauley, Parker Leise, Asa Newsom, Jamison Patton, Jonathan Humpal, and Nolan DeLong, among others.
As always, stay with HawkeyeReport.com throughout the weekend for all the latest news and notes. If you are not yet a subscriber, you can sign up today for a FREE Trial that will give you premium access at no charge up to August 10, 2021. Use promo code VISITS2021 and sign up today!
