After one of the wildest recruiting cycles in memory, college football’s National Signing Day is officially here. For years, this was one of the most exciting days of the offseason for college football fans everywhere. However, with the introduction of the early signing period a few years ago, this date has felt somewhat anticlimactic. That’s especially true for Iowa fans.
The Hawkeye football staff has spent the last several recruiting cycles building on a strategy of filling up their class early on and focusing the final months of the recruiting period on a handful of high priority targets. That was again the case in the class of 2021, albeit with some major roadblocks along the way as campus visits have been halted for nearly a year.
Despite the inability to get prospects on campus, which is particularly impactful for a program like Iowa, the Hawkeyes received 17 commitments during the early period and signed all of the to National Letters of Intent ahead of today. You can find details on all 17 of those signings in our Early Signing Day Headquarters.
With such a big haul in the early period, Iowa has focused the time since mid-December on filling the last remaining scholarships with prospects that fill needs and present upside. That has led to a handful of offers to potential running back prospects, as well as a few athletes.
One such athlete which could potentially end up at running back is Des Moines native Deavin Hilson. The North product committed to Iowa less than a week ago after receiving an offer.
He became the second commitment for Iowa in the late period after Florida native and former Texas commit Michael Myslinski verbaled to the Hawkeyes in January. Both Hilson and Myslinski are expected to sign their national letters of intent with Iowa on National Signing Day.
However, those are likely to be the only signings unless Iowa gets a surprise commitment from another Phil Parker special. That’s less imperative after the Hawkeyes landed UNI transfer Xavior Williams. More likely, Iowa is set to focus on filling gaps in the defensive line through the transfer portal later this spring and fill any remaining scholarship openings by rewarding walk-ons.
As the class currently stands, there are 19 total commits. That includes the 17 already signed in December and those two expected to sign Wednesday. The class is ranked inside the top-25 by both Rivals and 247 Sports, marking the first time the Hawkeyes have had a top-25 class since 2005. With prospects across the nation still committing throughout the day, it’s still possible Iowa drops a bit and even out of the top-25. Regardless of where things finish, it’s clear the coaching staff’s methodology has paid dividends in recent years as Iowa’s classes continue to trend higher up those rankings.
Be sure to check back throughout the day as the NLIs come in. We’ll also has a full class of 2021 recap and an early look at the class of 2022 in the coming days.