Iowa Football Recruiting: First Camp of 2017 Recap

Iowa Football held the first of a number of camps they’ll host this summer last weekend. Camp season is when we tend to see the most activity out of the Hawkeyes on the recruiting trail. We covered last week how the process in Iowa City may differ from that of some of our neighbors. A staple of that process is getting kids on campus to perform a full evaluation in person, get to know them better and build a relationship.

That emphasis on relationships and evaluations, particularly in-person evaluations, is why we tend to see so many offers extended in these summer camps. Potential recruits get an opportunity to see Iowa City, mingle with other recruits, and work closely with the Iowa coaching staff. It’s beneficial for the coaches as well: they get to see recruits up close, lining up against other potential high-schoolers and executing plays in Iowa’s style. It truly is an excellent opportunity for both sides and thus, a great chance for fans to learn some new names and see who may be joining he Hawkeyes in the future.

So with that in mind, let’s take a look at who left town with that coveted offer last weekend. The social media announcements are still rolling in, and likely will be over the next week or two, but here’s who we know so far:

Paul Moala - S, Mishawaka, Indiana - Class of 2018

Moala is a 3-star safety from Mishawaka, Indiana. 247 Sports lists him as the 11th-best prospect in Indiana in the class of 2018 and the 59th-best safety prospect in the country in their composite rankings. At 6’1” and 190 lbs, he has pretty solid size for his position. In addition to the Iowa offer, Moala holds offers from Ball State, Bowling Green, Hawaii, Indiana State, Northern Illinois and Western Michigan.

Anthony Torres - TE, Mishawaka, Indiana - Class of 2018

Anthony Torres is a 3-star TE, also from Penn High School in Mishawaka, Indiana. Torres and Moala are teammates. The 6’6”, 235-lb TE is ranked as the 15th-best prospect in Indiana and the 44th-best tight end in the country according to the 247 Sports composite rankings. The size makes him intriguing. We’ve seen Iowa have success turning guys that size into NFL offensive tackles, and his junior year video shows plenty of blocking to support that route as a potential fit. But he also has pretty good speed, agility and hands, so Torres could do just fine as the next in a long line of Iowa tight ends to make it to the league.

In addition to Iowa, Torres holds offers from Indiana and a whole slew of mid-major schools, including UCF, Ball State, Bowling Green, Air Force, the directional Michigan schools and more. He also has offers from most of the Ivy League and has heard from some of the big dogs in the Big Ten, but does not yet hold an offer from any (other than the aforementioned Indiana).

Derrick Miller, Jr. - CB, St. Louis, Missouri - Class of 2019

Derrick Miller is a 2019 prospect, meaning he will only be a junior this season. He is one of two 2019 prospects to attend Iowa’s camp last weekend and leave with an offer. Miller is a 6’, 165-lb corner who has some versatility. While at the camp, he worked out with both the defensive backs and the wide receivers. The St. Louis product is still unrated coming out of his sophomore year, but that didn’t stop LeVar Woods, who recruits St. Louis and the plethora of talent the area’s been producing in the 2018 and 2019 classes, from extending an offer after the camp. While it’s still early in Miller’s recruitment, Iowa State has also offered and he’ll be a name to follow as we progress over the next year or so.

Rodas Johnson - DT, Columbus, Ohio - Class of 2019

Rodas Johnson is the other class of 2019 prospect to announce an offer from Iowa following the weekend. Johnson is a big-bodied defensive tackle from Columbus, Ohio. Like Miller, he’s only going into his junior year of high school so he’s still young and developing, but at 6’3” and 285 lbs, the frame and his tape has been enough for him to earn several D-1 offers. Iowa joined the likes of Duke, Indiana, Minnesota, Northwestern, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pitt, Rutgers and several mid-majors. He has some interest from Notre Dame and Ohio State. Johnson has great size and talent. As great as I think he’d fit at Iowa, I wouldn’t hold my breath if the hometown team came calling.

Terry Roberts - CB, Erie, Pennsylvania - Class of 2018

Terry Roberts is the final prospect on our list of recent offerees (?). The name should sound familiar by now as Roberts wasted no time in pouncing on the opportunity to become a Hawkeye. He announced his commitment to the Hawkeyes on Monday.

As we outlined following his commitment, Roberts is a 5’10” 170-lb corner from Erie, Pennsylvania. As a junior, he played all over the place, returning a pair of punts for touchdowns and catching a few on offense as well. On the defensive side of the ball, he had 2 picks, 8 pass break-ups and 32 tackles. According to the 247 Sports composite rankings, Roberts will enter his senior year as the 27th best prospect in the state of Pennsylvania and the 106th best CB in the country. Based on his group of mentors and his work ethic, he sounds like a solid fit for the Hawkeyes and the first fruit born of the 2017 camp circuit.

So there you have it: Iowa’s first summer camp of 2017 concluded with five total prospects announcing offers publicly. There may be more we haven’t heard about and there will certainly be more to come as the staff completes their evaluations of the guys they were able to work with in person. And as we’ve seen with Roberts, those offers are already paying dividends as the class of 2018 grew to 7 members.

There’s no camp this weekend, as Iowa will host their annual Ladies Football Academy. Things should continue to pick up on the recruiting front as visitors start to make their way to campus the weekend of the 17th, including big targets like DJ Johnson.

The following weekend Iowa will host their summer tailgater and a big group of prospects will be in town, including current commit Tyrone Tracy, and fellow Indiana prospect Julius Brents, who’s a big time target for the Hawkeyes.

We’ll keep you updated on those events as they get closer, and of course keep you in the loop as new offers are made or guys commit. Until then, keep those Twitter feeds updating.