CROOTIN’: Iowa Football Secures Verbal Commitment from 2018 OL Jeff Jenkins

National Signing Day is coming up quickly for students who will be attending college in the upcoming academic year, but the pieces are already starting to fall into place for Iowa’s 2018 recruiting class, as Iowa has secured a verbal commitment from offensive lineman Jeff Jenkins from Crystal Lake, Illinois.

Jenkins, a 6’4”, 260 lb. lineman out of Prairie Ridge High School, has a three-star composite ranking from 247 Sports, who has him ranked as the 694th best player in the country and the 47th best offensive guard prospect. He has six offers thus far, although Iowa is the only team outside the MAC to give him one thus far - his other five offers are from Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, and Toledo.

Looking at his highlight tape, Jenkins looks like a solid lineman prospect, but I’d say that the biggest thing that knocks him down in the rankings is his size. If the 260 lb. that 247 Sports has him at is to be believed (and since his hudl profile echoes it, I imagine it is), then he’s a bit undersized to be playing lineman at the FBS level and will definitely need to bulk up a bit. For a quick comparison, Jenkins would be at least 20-25 pounds lighter than the lightest Iowa offensive lineman on scholarship in 2016. However, seeing as how Iowa has one of the best S&C coaches in Chris Doyle, this shouldn’t be a problem at all for the young man.

Jenkins is the second member to join Iowa’s Class of 2018 recruiting class, joining Wisconsin LB Mike Bruner.