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HAVE A SEAT, CAMRON HARRELL

Iowa's whirlwind recruiting weekend included a commitment from an under-the-radar defensive back in Illinois.

By RossWB

Iowa's 2017 recruiting class got off to a flying start, picking up seven verbal commitments before the end of March. They picked up a trio of recruits in April, headlined by 4* RB (and recruiting assistant extraordinaire) Eno Benjamin.  Things quieted down after that, but now they're heating up again.  Fresh off adding a QB recruit in Texan Peyton Mansell, Iowa landed a bevy of commitments this weekend after hosting a recruiting tailgate event in Iowa City.  First up: defensive back Camron Harrell.

Harrell, a 5-10, 181 lb defensive back out of Bradley, IL, picked up a scholarship offer from Iowa on Saturday -- and gave his commitment on Sunday. Harrell isn't a very heralded recruit -- he's rated just 2* by 247 and Scout and hasn't been ranked at all by Rivals or ESPN yet.  Nor was Harrell drowning in offers -- to date Iowa is his only current scholarship offer.  (Rivals also lists "interest" from North Dakota State, though, so SUCK IT BISON.)

Harrell played both sides of the ball last year and was tremendously productive on offense, hauling in over 900 yards receiving and 20 receiving touchdowns, including six touchdowns in a 2OT playoff win in the Illinois Class 7A high school playoffs. He's also a very good track athlete -- he ran a 10.68 100-yard dash (good for 4th place) at the Illinois State Track Championship last month and had a long jump of 22-1 1/2 (good for 10th place).

And, look, we get it: 2-star/no star recruit with no other major offers (hell, no offers at all) is not the sort of recruit that exactly gets the juices flowing. The flip side? Harrell is projected as a defensive back, aka Phil Parker's domain. If any coach has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to recruiting (and developing) unheralded talent, it's Parker. His resume includes an ever-growing list of players with quiet recruiting profiles who turned into All-Big Ten performers and NFL Draft picks at Iowa.  Is Harrell the next guy in line to follow that path?  Maybe, maybe not.  But given the success Iowa and Parker have had in the past, we're certainly inclined to trust them here.

Welcome to Iowa, Mr. Harrell.

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