Three-Star Linebacker Cam Buffington Signs With Iowa
Iowa has officially signed 2024 linebacker, Cam Buffington. The linebacker prospect from Winfield Mt. Union High School in Winfield, IA signed his letter of intent this morning.
Buffington's lone offer was from Iowa.
The fact that Buffington had just one scholarship offer (Iowa) is not a reflection on his talent -- far from it, in fact, since he's rated a 5.7 three-star prospect by Rivals, meaning that he's on the cusp of being considered a four-star prospect. He had just one scholarship offer because he shut down his recruitment almost as soon as it began.
Iowa offered Buffington at a camp in the summer of 2021, shortly after his freshman season at Winfield Mt. Union. Even Buffington was surprised at the timing of the offer, as he told Rivals back in 2021. "I was shell-shocked," said Buffington. "I didn’t know what to do. I was excited, but didn’t know how to show it."
It didn't take Buffington very long to make up his mind about the offer once he received it -- a little over a month after receiving his Iowa offer, Buffington committed to the Hawkeyes in July of 2021, becoming the second member of Iowa's 2024 recruiting class at the time.
"It’s just been a dream since I was little to be a Hawkeye," Buffington told Rivals about his decision to commit. "Especially being a in-state kid. There is just no other place I would rather play and I knew that so I just couldn’t wait."
Buffington put up monster numbers during his career at Winfield-Mt. Union. As a sophomore, Buffington completed 66-of-122 passes (54%) for 1,157 yards and 17 touchdowns against five interceptions. He also carried the ball 138 times for 1,028 yards and 18 touchdowns.
In 2022, Buffington transitioned from being a do-everything quarterback to being a running back/receiver. He finished the year with 1,484 yards and 25 touchdowns on 142 carries (a 10.5 ypc average) and 13 receptions for 264 yards and six touchdowns. In 2023, Buffington ran the ball 118 times for 1,362 yards (an 11.5 ypc average) and 25 touchdowns and caught 22 passes for 613 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Buffington made a big impact on the defensive side of the ball as well. As a sophomore, he had 55 tackles, including 6.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, as well as an interception (a 51-yard pick-six). In 2022, he finished with 95.5 tackles, including 6.0 tackles for loss and one sack. And as a senior in 2023, Buffington had his best season yet, with 106.5 tackles, including 18.5 tackles for loss, and 4.0 sacks.
Like fellow Iowa commit Preston Ries, Buffington excelled in a smaller class -- Winfield Mt. Union competes in 8-man football, the smallest class of high school football in Iowa. Like Ries, Buffington was also phenomenally productive at that level and will look to follow the path of other former small school stars who became standouts at Iowa as well.
After committing to Iowa almost two and a half years ago, Buffington finally made his official visit to Iowa in June as part of a big recruiting weekend for Iowa. The visit only confirmed his decision to commit to Iowa. "My decision to be a Hawkeye has been affirmed since the day I committed, and this just made me even more excited to get there," Buffington told us after the visit in June.
"I hung out with Joe Evans quite a bit, which was cool. I loved going around just exploring campus, seeing dorms, and seeing what the college experience is about."