Advertisement
football Edit

What landing Proctor means for Iowa

Landing Kadyn Proctor is a huge win for the Hawkeyes on several fronts.
Landing Kadyn Proctor is a huge win for the Hawkeyes on several fronts.

It might not seem like it given what has happened in the last two recruiting cycles, but five stars usually don’t come from the state of Iowa.

Yet, that’s exactly what has happened in the last two years with a pair of five star prospects not only from the state of Iowa, but from the same high school.

More importantly, both five stars, Xavier Nwankpa last year, and Kadyn Proctor in the Class of 2023, will end up at the University of Iowa. Nwankpa verbally committed to Iowa last year and enrolled with the Hawkeyes in January.

One day before the calendar to July and just a few days after he made his official visit to Iowa City, Proctor made it commitment official by verbally pledging to the Hawkeyes.

Both players spent their high school careers at Southeast Polk in central Iowa as teammates and now they will reunite at Iowa. It’s also worth noting that both players had their pick of virtually every school in the country.

Last year Nwankpa took official visit to Texas A&M, Notre Dame, and Ohio State before picking Iowa. This year, Proctor was slated to have a busy June of visits to Alabama and several other high profile schools before changing course and setting up an official visit to Iowa this past weekend. It is worth noting that Iowa was not on his original list of official visit destinations this month before the change, but the Hawkeyes were always going to be the team to beat.

Make no mistake, this is literally and figuratively a massive get for the Iowa program. Last year Nwankpa was the 19th best player in the country according to Rivals.com. This year, Proctor is the #1 offensive lineman in the country and the 14th best overall prospect in the country.

Proctor, who stands 6-foot-8 and weighs in at 335 pounds, carries that well on his massive frame. He wore #74 because he admired former Hawkeye Tristan Wirfs and in many ways he dwarfs him in terms of size when he arrives at Iowa. He’s also very advanced from a skill perspective as a natural left tackle. Remember, Wirfs came in and became a starter in the middle of his true freshman year and was off to the NFL by the end of his third year and that’s potentially a timeline for Proctor if he continues to develop.

One other outcome of this commitment is that Iowa is putting up a wall around the state when it comes to the top prospects. There was a time when more name brand schools could come in to Iowa and land the top players in the state. By keeping back to back five stars home, it sends a message that Kirk Ferentz and his staff are keeping the top talent home.

Iowa is also putting together one of the best offensive line recruiting classes in the Ferentz era. Proctor will obviously lead the group as a five star prospect, but not far behind is Trevor Lauck, a four star lineman at 6-foot-6 and 287 pounds, who committed this past weekend. Iowa also landed 6-foot-9 and 265 pound tackle prospect Cannon Leonard, who has a massive wing span. Lastly, they already had an earlier verbal from 6-foot-4 center Leighton Jones. There’s also a decent chance that they add three star Logan Howland, who is a high school teammate of quarterback commit Marco Lainez. He is reportedly down to Iowa and Oklahoma and could decide shortly.

Lastly, this also could help to draw in more recruits. Great players want to play with great players and landing five stars in back to back years puts Iowa on the map. Even in the era of Name, Image, and Likeness, the Hawkeyes are going to be very appealing because of their ability to coach up players and put them in the NFL. If they can move Nwankpa and Proctor on to the NFL in a few years then it will have an impact on the recruiting trail.

Advertisement