Weekend Recruiting Preview
The Hawkeyes are finally back in Kinnick Stadium for what is their first and only home game of October as they host Maryland for Homecoming at 11 AM on Saturday. This weekend, the Iowa coaching staff will also have a number of recruits in town with 46 prospects making the trip for a game day visit on Saturday. In this update, we take a closer look at the list and some of the top names visiting the Hawkeyes.
In-state running back Gavin Williams continues to be one of Iowa's top priorities in the Class of 2020 and will be back in town for another game day visit this weekend. A three-star prospect, the 6-foot-0, 195-pound Williams has Iowa and Iowa State on his list along with scholarship offers from Michigan and Nebraska. In July, Williams visited Iowa City for the Hawkeye Tailgater and left town proclaiming Iowa as his new favorite.
Kansas running back Ky Thomas was also at the Hawkeye Tailgater in July and will be back on campus this weekend for his first game day visit at Iowa. A three-star prospect from Topeka, the 5-foot-11, 195-pound Thomas is currently looking over scholarship offers from Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Minnesota, and Louisiana Tech.
Class of 2020 offensive lineman Ben Barten added a scholarship offer from his home state Badgers last month, but continues to give Iowa serious consideration as well. The Hawkeyes were the first to offer the 6-foot-6, 245-pound Barten and like him at offensive tackle, while Wisconsin might be looking more at defensive end right now. In addition to the two Big Ten schools, Barten has an offer from South Dakota State and interest from Notre Dame, Northwestern, Stanford, and Minnesota.
Illinois offensive lineman Tyler Elsbury will be back in Iowa City this weekend for his third visit of the season. The 6-foot-5, 298-pound Elsbury, who grew up a Hawkeye fan, called Iowa's scholarship offer a dream come true in May. The Class of 2020 prospect also holds offers from Purdue, Illinois, and Northern Illinois, but it may be more a question of when, not if, he eventually commits to the Hawkeyes.
Bettendorf defensive tackle Griffin Liddle was the first in-state recruit the Hawkeyes offered in the Class of 2021 and continues to be a top priority. The 6-foot-4, 255-pound Liddle, whose father Josh wrestled at Iowa, was in attendance for the Hawkeye Tailgater in July and will be back for his second game day visit of the season this weekend. Currently, Liddle holds scholarship offers from Iowa, Iowa State, and Nebraska.
Class of 2021 in-state defensive end T.J. Bollers will also be back on campus Saturday for another visit as well. The son of former Hawkeye Trevor Bollers, T.J. earned an offer from Iowa in May and attended the Hawkeyes' season opener last month. In addition to Iowa, Minnesota, Iowa State, and Nebraska have also offered Bollers, who has plans to visit all four schools plus Notre Dame this season.
Another Class of 2021 in-state prospect, offensive lineman Luke Pinnick, will be in town this weekend as well. The 6-foot-4, 295-pound Pinnick has an early offer from Iowa State and interest from Alabama and Nebraska in addition to Iowa. The Hawkeyes could be the next to offer if Pinnick's sophomore film impresses them this fall.
Class of 2020 linebacker Lanell Carr from St. Louis will be making his first visit to Iowa City this weekend. A three-star prospect, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Carr already holds scholarship offers from Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, Rutgers, and Louisiana Tech with interest from several others including the Hawkeyes.
Also, several of Iowa's current commits will be in town this weekend including Josiah Miaman, Tyler Endres, Jack Campbell, and Noah Fenske, plus Michael Lois, who continues to make tremendous strides as he recovers from an off the field accident that left him with three broken vertebrae in September.
See the full list of recruits expected to be in attendance below.
October 20th Visitors:
Gavin Williams - 6-foot-0, 195-pound Class of 2020 RB from Runnells, IA (Iowa offer)
Ky Thomas - 5-foot-11, 195-pound Class of 2020 RB from Topeka, KS (Iowa offer)
Ben Barten - 6-foot-6, 245-pound Class of 2020 OL from Stratford, WI (Iowa offer)
Tyler Elsbury - 6-foot-5, 298-pound Class of 2020 OL from Byron, IL (Iowa offer)
Griffin Liddle - 6-foot-4, 255-pound Class of 2021 DT from Bettendorf, IA (Iowa offer)
T.J. Bollers - 6-foot-4, 227-pound Class of 2021 DE from Tiffin, IA (Iowa offer)
Andrew Bench - 6-foot-5, 225-pound Class of 2019 TE from Genoa, OH
Ian Kuehl - 6-foot-0, 270-pound Class of 2019 DT from Lena, IL
Nolan Donald - 5-foot-9, 187-pound Class of 2019 ATH from Morton, IL
Johnny Plewa - 6-foot-2, 235-pound Class of 2019 FB from Franklin, WI
Lucas Amaya - 6-foot-3, 205-pound Class of 2019 K from Muskego, WI
Jack Takerian - 6-foot-2, 191-pound Class of 2019 P from Franklin, WI
Carter Bell - 5-foot-10, 175-pound Class of 2019 WR from Bettendorf, IA
Kyler Fisher - 6-foot-0, 197-pound Class of 2019 S/LB from Gowrie, IA
Dalton Schmidt - 6-foot-6, 270-pound Class of 2019 OL from Fort Dodge, IA
Tyson Strohbeen - 6-foot-3, 270-pound Class of 2019 OL from Sioux City, IA
Brendan Mott - 6-foot-3, 195-pound Class of 2019 LB from Iowa City, IA
Kenny Tracy - 6-foot-0, 190-pound Class of 2020 RB from Indianapolis, IN
Lanell Carr - 6-foot-3, 215-pound Class of 2020 LB from St. Louis, MO
Terrence Collins - 5-foot-10, 175-pound Class of 2020 ATH from Overland Park, KS
Eric Epenesa - 6-foot-0, 160-pound Class of 2020 LB from Edwardsville, IL
Sam Skuja - 6-foot-4, 305-pound Class of 2020 OL from Aurora, IL
Wyatt Schroeder - 6-foot-6, 215-pound Class of 2020 TE from St. Francis, MN
Darien Foster - 6-foot-2, 312-pound Class of 2020 OL from South St. Paul, MN
Ethan Prodzinski - 6-foot-5, 265-pound Class of 2020 OL from Winona, MN
Dalys Beanum - 6-foot-1, 170-pound Class of 2020 WR/DB from Omaha, NE
John Farmer - 6-foot-3, 185-pound Class of 2020 WR from Omaha, NE
Jaylon Walker - 5-foot-11, 190-pound Class of 2020 RB from Omaha, NE
Lucas Finnessy - 6-foot-3, 200-pound Class of 2020 LB from Sussex, WI
Kerry Kodanko - 6-foot-4, 250-pound Class of 2020 OL from West De Pere, WI
Bill Wyatt - 6-foot-6, 245-pound Class of 2020 TE/OL from West De Pere, WI
Cade Fleischmann - 6-foot-3, 220-pound Class of 2020 LB from Eagle, WI
Mitchell Bartol - 6-foot-4, 220-pound Class of 2020 TE from Kimberly, WI
Isaiah Gash - 5-foot-9, 165-pound Class of 2020 ATH from Green Bay, WI
Devonte Smith - 6-foot-2, 221-pound Class of 2020 LB from Milwaukee, WI
Gunnar Kilen - 6-foot-6, 250-pound Class of 2020 OL from Verona, WI
Lukas Spencer - 6-foot-3, 215-pound Class of 2020 LB from Wales, WI
Creighton Mitchell - 5-foot-9, 176-pound Class of 2020 RB from West Des Moines, IA
Caleb Siech - 6-foot-5, 285-pound Class of 2020 OL from Waverly, IA
Brady Petersen - 6-foot-5, 260-pound Class of 2020 OL from Ankeny, IA
Luke Pinnick - 6-foot-4, 295-pound Class of 2021 OL from State Center, IA
Taylor Fox - 6-foot-3, 250-pound Class of 2019 OL from Winthrop, IA (Iowa walk-on)
Josiah Miamen - 6-foot-4, 225-pound Class of 2019 TE from Dunlap, IL (Iowa commit)
Jack Campbell - 6-foot-4, 210-pound Class of 2019 LB from Cedar Falls, IA (Iowa commit)
Tyler Endres - 6-foot-6, 305-pound Class of 2019 OL from Norwalk, IA (Iowa commit)
Noah Fenske - 6-foot-5, 280-pound Class of 2019 OL from New Hampton, IA (Iowa commit)
Michael Lois - 6-foot-4, 260-pound Class of 2020 DE from Elkhorn, WI (Iowa commit)
Stay with HawkeyeReport.com this weekend for the latest news on Iowa football recruiting.