Iowa's camp week haul of three ends with Trevon Young, a linebacker from Des Moines Lincoln High. Young has been largely ignored by the recruiting services; he received a two-star rating from Scout, but has not been examined by Rivals or 24/7. Young's only other FBS offer was from Iowa State, though he did have offers from a couple of serious FCS programs. He is certainly a project, weighing in at just 220 pounds despite standing 6'4". The coaches have already told him he will likely move to defensive end after a year in the weight room, which is certainly intriguing. Lincoln's apparent philosophy on using him last season was to move him around -- defensive end, middle linebacker, even outside linebacker or strong safety -- and let him wreak havoc. That sort of background is certainly helpful for a "tweener" like this.
This is probably as good a time as any to talk about Iowa's recruiting in Des Moines. Despite Reese Morgan's Svengali-like hold on in-state recruits in general, Iowa has struggled for years with recruiting the Des Moines suburbs. Whether they commit elsewhere, play footsie with Iowa and then commit elsewhere, or commit to Iowa and then go elsewhere, recruits from West Des Moines just don't make it to Iowa City. There is exactly one Valley grad on the current roster: Connor Boffeli, who should start at guard this year. It's a problem, to be sure: Not only is West Des Moines Valley the state's largest high school, but the Tigers and their rivals at Dowling Catholic have dominated high school football in Iowa in recent years. In a talent-starved state, winning those battles is important.
Iowa hasn't had much more luck in Des Moines proper. The last Hawkeyes to come from the city were Adam Robinson (Class of '08) and Jordan Bernstine (Class of '07). Not surprisingly, they too were Lincoln grads. The reasons for that drought, though, are evident from Young's video. Despite being undersized and playing against almost exclusively 4A, in-city competition, Young looks like Manbearpig against Des Moines opposition. The balance of power in city football has long since moved west, and while finding diamonds in the rough like Young are well and good, Iowa has to get back to winning recruiting battles in the suburbs if it is to win the important battles in the fall.