Iowa Football Recruiting: 3-star Connecticut WR Diante Vines Commits to Hawkeyes

Independence Day isn’t until tomorrow, but the Iowa Hawkwyes are kicking off the holiday weekend with a bang. After reeling in 10 commitments in the month of June, the Hawkeye fans were looking to get their first in the month of July earlier this week. But as Monday came and went, no announcements were made.

Today, Iowa officially gets the ball rolling in July as they landed a commitment from a big time playmaker out of Connecticut.

Vines is a 6’1” 187 pound receiver from Watertown who preps at The Taft School. While he isn’t as big as a Brandon Smith on the outside, he has a solid frame and is a really good route runner. He has enough speed to beat his man deep, but really uses his body and footwork well to get himself open.

With the ball in his hands, Vines is a playmaker who consistently makes defenders miss. As a junior, he finished with 602 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns on 51 catches for an average of 11.8 yards per catch. He also returned kicks and took one to the house for Taft.

Watching the video, Vines reminds a bit of former Hawkeye standout Derrell Johnson-Koulianos. The two have similar size (DJK was an inch taller), both are former high school quarterbacks and both are dynamic with the ball in their hand. Obviously Iowa fans could do with fewer off field story lines regarding Vines, but if he can project to the same zip code as DJK on the field, this is an excellent pickup.

Overall, Vines is the 21st commit for Iowa in the class of 2020. He’s the second receiver joining Florida native Quavon Matthews. As discussed in this morning’s recruiting update, Iowa was planning to take 2-3 receivers in this class. With two on board, it will now be interesting to see how things progress with Illinois native Kaevion Mack who was slated to announce a decision earlier this week.

Welcome aboard Diante Vines!

Diante Vines, WR

Hometown: Watertown, CT (The Taft School)
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 187
Stars: 247 Sports - 3 Rivals - 3