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<p class="maintitle"><span class="Fid_13"> 5 factors shaped Iowa's
'16 class </span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_16"> Hawkeyes looking to avoid
getting Harbaugh'd</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_11"> By Marc Morehouse,</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_12"> The Gazette</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_10"> Iowa is running out of tight
ends. It's not an emergency and they don't have to open a new
drilling site, but you know how Kirk Ferentz likes to roll with
lots of two tight end formations. More specifically, Iowa is
kind of running out of 'move' tight ends, the ones who can get
vertical and punish defenses</span><span class="Fid_10"> who try
to cover them with linebackers. That's George Kittle's role for
2016, but he's a senior.</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_10"> Maybe sophomore Jameer Outsey
can grow into that kind of a role.</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_10"> And who knows about some of
the young, unproven players down the depth chart, including
red-shirt freshman Nate Vejvoda.</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_10"> This is why Iowa will sign at
least three tight ends with impressive re</span><span
class="Fid_10"> sumes when the national signing period begins
this morning.</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_10"> Cedar Rapids Kennedy's Shaun
Beyer, Noah Fant (Omaha, Neb.) and Chariton's T.J. Hockenson are
all 6-5 with Beyer and Fant weighing in at 210 and Hockenson at
230. Each has a 3-star rating from <a
href="http://cedarrapidsgazette.ia.newsmemory.com/eebrowser/ipad/html5.check.1805/#"
onclick="pl_openIFrame('http://Rivals.com','_blank');return
false;">Rivals.com</a> and has an impressive list of
credentials.</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_17"> </span><span class="Fid_18"></span></p>
<img src="cid:part2.02030405.03000508@gmail.com" onload="if
(this.width > 460) {this.height = this.height * 480 / this.width;
this.width = 460;}" height="132" width="175">
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_15"> Cedar Rapids Kennedy's Shaun
Beyer, seen here leaping over a North Scott defender during a
playoff game last fall at Kingston Stadium, is one of three
tight ends joining the Hawkeyes as part of their 2016 recruiting
class.</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_14"> Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette</span></p>
<br>
<hr>
<p class="maintitle"><span class="Fid_16"> </span></p>
<br>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_7"> Need</span><span
style="font-weight:bold;"> (1)</span><span class="Fid_7"> was a
factor for Iowa's 2016 class. It is in every class. Along with
'move' tight end, defensive end was arguably the biggest need
for the Hawkeyes, who should sign 25 players today (barring some
late drama). Five defensive ends will sign, including Detroit
duo Chauncey Golston (65, 235) and Cedrick Lattimore (6-4, 251),
both of whom played at East English Village (all-American
cornerback Desmond King's alma mater).</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_7"> Joining Golston and Lattimore
at defensive end are Romeo McKnight (6-5, 230), Austin Schulte
(6-4, 250) and Brandon Simon (6-1, 236).</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_7"> Defensive end isn't a pressing
need with sophomores Parker Hesse (who started nine games as a
red-shirt freshman) and Matt Nelson slotted as starters, but
depth and competition are needed.</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_7"> 'We have three years with both
those players and they have got all the right stuff,' head coach
Kirk Ferentz said, comparing defensive end to where offensive
tackle was last season with two new starters.</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_8"> •</span><span class="Fid_7">
The accelerated recruiting timeline</span><span
style="font-weight:bold;"> (2)</span><span class="Fid_7">
certainly kept the Hawkeyes from cashing in on a 12-0 regular
season and their first Rose Bowl appearance in 25 years. Iowa
went into the season with 20-some commitments and really had no
room to grow with the cap set at 25.</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_7"> The flip side is the 2017
class is well aware of 12-0 and Rose Bowl and that has started
to pay off. Iowa already has five commitments for 2017, led by
4-star defensive lineman A.J. Epenesa.</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_7"> 'There are more eyes and there
is more interest, whether it be traffic on social media, which
is what's really driving recruiting these days, or wherever,'
assistant coach Seth Wallace said during Rose Bowl week. 'In the
near future, we're going to be faced with a</span><span
class="Fid_7"> much larger pool of candidates.'</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_8"> •</span><span class="Fid_7">
You started to see the new Hansen Football Performance Center</span><span
style="font-weight:bold;"> (3)</span><span class="Fid_7"> have
an influence in recruiting last season. That has continued with
the 2016 class. The program moved into the new $55 million
facility last summer. The building is now fully operational with
everything from massive doit-all weightroom to eye-popping
graphics to a heated room that dries gear and kills bacteria.</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_7"> 'When I first came here, they
asked me to go out to lunch with a donor,' offensive coordinator
Greg Davis said. 'He asked me a really good question. Those guys
who make a lot of money, they're smart. And he said, 'You tell
me why you need a new facility.' I said, 'Well, we can coach
them in a barn once we get them, but we can't get them to a
barn.' 'They need to see commitment. They need to see bricks and
mortar. That's part of recruiting now.'</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_8"> •</span><span class="Fid_7">
The search for speed</span><span style="font-weight:bold;"> (4)</span><span
class="Fid_7"> has become a factor in recent recruiting classes
and has had varying</span><span class="Fid_7"> degrees of
success. The most noticeable year was 2013, when Iowa signed 10
wide receivers, defensive backs and a few running backs whose
obvious best trait was speed. Just three of those players will
line up for Iowa next season - wide receivers Matt VandeBerg and
Jonathan Parker and running backs Akrum Wadley and Derrick
Mitchell Jr. In 2014-15, Iowa signed seven potential speed
players, including cornerback Josh Jackson and wide receivers
Jerminic Smith, Adrian Falconer and Emmanuel Ogwo.</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_7"> This year, seven players fit
this profile and any one of them could potentially make a splash
next fall. The best candidate might be running back Toks
Akinribade, a 6-0, 205-pounder who holds the Brownsburg (Ind.)
High School 100-meter dash record at 10.97 seconds.</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_8"> •</span><span class="Fid_7">
Iowa could potentially feel last-minute heartbreak caused by
Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh</span><span
style="font-weight:bold;"> (5)</span><span class="Fid_7"> .
Detroit Renaissance offensive tackle Alaric Jackson (6-7, 285)
was set to commit to Iowa on Monday, but Michigan came in with a
late offer, according to Rivals. com. Jackson, a 3-star recruit,
postponed his news conference.</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_7"> Jackson will announce this
morning. He could be No. 25 for Iowa's 2016 class or another eye
gouge from Harbaugh.</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_7"> But when Harbaugh poached
running back Karan Higdon last season, Ferentz barely flinched
during his signing day news conference.</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_7"> 'You just deal with it. If you
could draw the script, you'd rather find out (sooner rather than
later),' he said. 'In a perfect world you'd rather find out. If
it's going to be 'no,' you'd rather find out sooner than later,
but the world is not perfect, and you deal with it.' Or maybe
Jackson sticks with Iowa. Maybe. You never know.</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_8"> •</span><span class="Fid_4">
Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc. <a
href="mailto:morehouse@thegazette.com"><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:morehouse@thegazette.com">morehouse@thegazette.com</a></a></span></p>
<img src="cid:part4.04020300.00090904@gmail.com" onload="if
(this.width > 460) {this.height = this.height * 480 / this.width;
this.width = 460;}" height="181" width="154">
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_11"> Iowa football recruit A.J.
Epenesa (left) - seen with his father Epenesa Epenesa, a former
Iowa football player, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Jan. 17 - is
one of five players already committed for 2017.</span></p>
<p class="abody"><span class="Fid_10"> Cliff Jette/The Gazette</span></p>
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