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While most football fans were focused on Super Bowl LIII, the Iowa football staff was focused on recruiting. And while that may not come as a major surprise with the final signing day for the recruiting class of 2019 coming up this week, it may be a bit of a surprise that the focus wasn’t just on the class of 2019.
In today’s college football, a staff can’t ever take a day off and they can never look too far to the future. So the Hawkeye coaches are already putting in serious work on the class of 2020. Tonight, that work paid off with the fifth commitment in the class as in-state defensive end Logan Jones announced he’ll join the Hawkeyes.
COMMITED #Swarm20 pic.twitter.com/hAtiC635pm
— Logan Jones (@logan_jones75) February 3, 2019
Hailing from Lewis Central in Council Bluffs, Jones is a big time pickup along the defensive line. He has a lot of versatility with a great frame and plus speed at his size. As a junior, he’s already 6’3” and north of 250 pounds. That’s very good size for a high school junior at defensive end.
That size hasn’t limited Jones’ speed or quickness. Last season he racked up 8.5 sacks and a staggering 25.5 tackles for loss - nearly half of his 59 total tackles. Some of those came with Jones lined up inside at defensive tackle, where he shows very good burst and a solid bull rush.
The flexibility afforded the staff with a player like Jones is invaluable. The class of 2020 already had two other defensive ends prior to this commitment with Illinois native Isaiah Bruce and Wisconsin native Michael Lois. But, as you’ll recall, Lois suffered a career-threatening injury last year. While he’ll certainly be at Iowa and on scholarship, it remains to be seen how much he can contribute after the neck injury. Jones gives the Hawkeyes options as he can play either outside or inside, and potentially even move to the offensive line.
In addition to the trio of defensive linemen, the Hawkeyes have already gotten their quarterback in 2020 with Texas-native Deuce Hogan. They also reeled in a big time commitment from in state running back Gavin Williams in January. Look for the staff to turn their full attention to the class after signing day for the 2019 group this week.
Welcome aboard Logan Jones!