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The Iowa Hawkeyes are officially rolling. There’s obviously no football being played and like the NFL Draft, all recruiting is being done remotely at this time. That hasn’t slowed down Iowa’s momentum. If anything, we’re seeing an uptick in Iowa’s recruiting with coaches unable to get through spring practices and instead focusing their efforts on virtual facilities tours and over-the-phone recruiting.
That has already paid huge dividends as Iowa has landed four commitments since the sports world virtually shut down. Shortly after the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments were cancelled, in state safety prospect Cooper DeJean became Iowa’s 8th commitment in the class of 2021. Roughly a month later, it was Florida cornerback Jordan Oladokun who made the call. Last week, the Hawkeyes add two more commitments as Urbandale defensive end Max Llewellyn and Kansas City OG Beau Stephens took Iowa to 11 total commitments in the class.
Today, that momentum continues to build as the Hawkeyes added another big time commitment from Illinois offensive tackle David Davidkov.
COMMITTED pic.twitter.com/vy2LBLKlxP
— David Davidkov (@davidkov_d) April 27, 2020
Davidkov is a tremendous pickup for the Hawkeyes. The New Trier product has an excellent frame, measuring 6’6” and nearly 300 pounds as a high school junior. Davidkov shows good athleticism and an ability to get out in space, a rarity for someone his size. He’s got good versatility, lining up at both tackle spots in high school.
In the run game, Davidkov is an absolute mauler. He uses his sheer size to overpower defenders relentlessly serving up pancakes. But what sets him apart is his ability to get to the next level, track down quicker linebackers and defensive backs and engage, then bury them.
The combination of size and athleticism has garnered Davidkov a 4-star rating by both Rivals and 247 Sports. It also grabbed the attention of a slew of major college football programs. Davidkov, who had planned to officially visit Michigan June 5th, Ohio State June 12th and Iowa June 19th, held more than 20 total offers. That included the aforementioned Ohio State and Michigan, in addition to LSU, Penn State, Wisconsin, Oregon, Michigan State, Minnesota and a slew of others.
For those tracking at home, that would be the second offensive line commit in the last two weeks Iowa has gotten with offers from both Michigan and LSU. Davidkov becomes Iowa’s 4th offensive line commit in the class of 2021, joining last week’s commit Beau Stephens, as well as fellow 4-star prospect Connor Colby and fellow Illinois-native Gennings Dunker. The Hawkeyes are likely to take at least one more offensive lineman in this class.
The commitment takes Iowa’s class of 2021 to 12 total commitments. The addition jumps the Hawkeyes up to 7th nationally according to Rivals and 6th according to 247 Sports. Iowa is expected to sign around 20 players total in 2021.
Welcome aboard David Davidkov!