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You know how Iowa lost borderline four-star halfback Karan Higdon to Michigan this morning? Well, joke's on him, because the Hawkeyes already have his replacement in the fold!
Welcome Eric Graham to the #Hawkeyes! #IowaNSD15 #GoHawks #Swarm2015 http://t.co/gpwCQpV6ps
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) February 4, 2015
That sound you hear in the distance is every Iowa recruiting site asking who Eric Graham is. Iowa's 247 site lists him as a 5'10, 200-lb. tailback out of Prattville, Alabama. He is entirely unranked by the scouting services. As far as we know, he held no other scholarship offers. 247 doesn't have a picture of him, He's not even available in a search of Rivals. He has some video, so there's that.
The last-second Higdon decommitment left Iowa in a bind; they had essentially promised him he'd be the only back in the class, so when he left, there were no other halfbacks in the fold. Iowa had capped its class at 21 recruits and only had 20, and football teams simply don't bank scholarships.
With that said, Iowa's already got three versions of this guy on the roster. Jordan Canzeri, Akrum Wadley and Jonathan Parker all had this size, this level of notoriety, and this last-second offer guaranteed to land. And while all three have proven to be capable of playing at this level, Iowa needs far more than capable in 2015. The Hawkeyes missed on three running back recruits this year, all three of which had named Iowa as their frontrunner at one point or another. Contingency plans are simply that, and Eric Graham is certainly a contingency plan.
Welcome to Iowa City, Mr. Graham. Please prove quite literally the entire college football world wrong.