Three-star linebacker out of Williamsburg, Iowa, Derek Weisskopf has signed with Iowa. He chose the Hawkeyes in April of 2022, following his sophomore season.
Though he committed early, he did earn offers from a few notable Power 5 programs, including Nebraska, Iowa State and Wisconsin. Chances are strong that his recruitment would have continued to pick up steam had he not picked the Hawkeyes so early in the recruitment process.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Weisskopf will play linebacker in Iowa City, but he did a little bit of everything for the Raiders during his senior campaign, including playing safety, tight end, quarterback and holding down punting duties.
During his senior season, he racked up 58.5 tackles, grabbed four interceptions including a pick six and recovered a fumble on defense.
On offense, he caught 14 passes for 212 yards and four touchdowns, ran the ball 57 times for 317 yards and two scores and completed 64 of 110 passes for 1,123 yards and 20 touchdowns after taking over for the starting QB who went down with an injury.
He also punted the ball 31 times for 1,169 yards -- an average of 37.7 yards per punt.
He did all of this en route to earning All-American honors this season. He will play in the Army All-American Game on January 6, 2024 in Dallas, TX.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As well as being productive on the field, Weisskopf is also a great teammate, as his high school coach Curt Ritchie told me this fall.
"He's a great culture fit," he said. "And he's going to get better wherever they put him. Wherever we put him we get better -- whether it's linebacker, H-Back, tight end, or safety, we get better. They'll find the right fit for him."
"Truthfully, his best attribute is that he's a competitor. The bigger the competition, the more he rises to the occasion. It just doesn't phase him, he's been like that since he was young. He'll be a great fit for Iowa, because he'll just rise up and keep getting better."
Weisskopf proved that by leading the Raiders to the school's first-ever state football championship in 3A this season -- and he showed it on the stat sheet in Cedar Falls: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