Hawkeyes connect with Wisconsin wide receiver

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz has never been shy about his admiration for some of the star players who've come from the Mid-American Conference.

In fact, in 2011 when asked about former wide receiver Kevonte Martin-Manley, Ferentz said, 'I'm not so sure there aren't times we shouldn't wait till December, try to raid the MAC commitments, get the all-stars. I'm serious. There are a lot of good players in that league.'

It's an interesting concept. It might work, but then it might not.

Either way, you've seen Iowa pick off a player or two every recruiting season who has committed or has been recruited heavily by MAC schools. For instance, there was Wednesday.

Waukesha (Wis.) Catholic wide receiver Max Cooper decommitted from Central Michigan and accepted a scholarship offer from Iowa. Iowa assistant Seth Wallace offered a scholarship on Monday night.

'After an exciting past few days, I have decided to decommit from CMU and accept a full-ride scholarship to play for coach Ferentz at Iowa,' Cooper posted on Twitter. 'Thank you to all of the coaches from CMU who have been recruiting me in this process. But playing in the Big Ten has been a dream of mine and I cannot be more excited to say it has come true.'

December 14, 2016

#GoHawkeyes #Swarm17 pic.twitter.com/Dhzmey5Tqy

— Max Cooper (@max_cooper5)

Cooper told HawkeyeReport.com that his parents are Central Michigan graduates.

Cooper, 6-0, 175, helped Waukesha Catholic Memorial to the Wisconsin Division 3 state championship. As a senior, he caught 50 passes for 1,024 and 17 touchdowns.

Cooper, who had FBS offers from Iowa, CMU and Air Force, is the 14th commitment for Iowa's 2017 recruiting class. He's the second wide receiver in the class, joining Mississippi's Brandon Smith. Iowa had a pair of wide receivers decommit in November, so it's likely still in the market for a few more, including Iowa City West's Oliver Martin.

The national signing period begins Feb. 1.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com