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Matt Nelson
Defensive end
Just signed, Matt Nelson! Welcome to #HawkNation! #GoHawks #Swarm2014 http://t.co/6VCctvjymw
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) February 5, 2014
Hometown: Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Height: 6'8
Weight: 250 pounds
247 Sports Composite Rating: 3-star
Other Offers: Arkansas, Florida State, Notre Dame, Nebraska
Caring Is Creepy: Have a seat, Matt Nelson
Iowa reportedly recruited him solely as a defensive end, and Nelson's praise of Iowa's defensive staff is a fairly solid indication that this is not a "recruit a big defensive end and make him an offensive tackle" situation.
In a year with arguably the nation's top interior line recruit, arguably the nation's top wide receiver recruit, and a borderline four-star receiver in the state of Iowa, could the best talent of them all be a 6'8 defensive end project? We're about to find out, because Matt Nelson is totally going to redshirt and emerge from the lab at about 270 pounds, and then Matt Nelson is going to ruin people's Saturdays for three years.
What we're saying is, we like this guy.