Texas QB picks the Hawkeyes

Iowa offensive coordinator Greg Davis visited Texas to watch Belton High School quarterback Peyton Mansell in May. Iowa offered shortly thereafter and Mansell became a priority.

He visited Iowa City last weekend and announced Monday on Twitter that he has committed to the Hawkeyes.

'They said I'm their No. 1 2017 guy,' Mansell told HawkeyeReport.com on Friday. 'They said I'd redshirt and then after that, the spot would go to whoever earned it, no matter who he is.'

Excited to say I'm committing to the University of Iowa.June 20, 2016

Excited to say I'm committing to the University of Iowa.#swarm17 #ANF #FroshBTeam pic.twitter.com/ZI7sxTXORL

— Aquaman (@MansellPeyton)

As a junior at Belton, Mansell completed 140 of 241 pass attempts (58.1 percent) for 1,712 yards and 20 touchdowns and just three interceptions. A dual-threat quarterback in high school, he finished with 113 carries for 789 yards rushing and 10 scores on the ground as well.

Mansell's highlights show a live arm with great accuracy. Also, he shows a great feel for the read option run.

'He can make plays with his feet and extend plays,' Belton coach Bob Shipley told HawkeyeReport. 'He's not robotic with his thinking during a play. He has that uncoachable ability to make a play when things around him begin to deteriorate.'

Iowa was Mansell's lone Power 5 conference offer, but far from his only. The 6-2, 195-pounder had 17 offers ranging from San Diego State, Southern Miss, New Mexico, Rice, Florida Atlantic, New Mexico State, North Texas, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Coastal Carolina, North Dakota State, Abilene Christian and Houston Baptist.

'Coach Davis saw my film and told my head coach that he was going to come down and see me throw in person,' Mansell said. 'He came and watched and liked what he saw. I feel blessed that I received an offer from such a prestigious school and high character program.'

Mansell is Iowa's 10th commitment for the 2017 class. Last week, North Fayette Valley defensive lineman Juan Harris decommitted from the Hawkeyes. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz has projected Iowa's 2017 class to include around 20 prospects.

Iowa is digging into the state of Texas. Running back Eno Benjamin (Wylie, Texas), who committed to the Hawkeyes in April, has been an active recruiter for Iowa. Wide receiver Camron Buckley (Cedar Hill), wide receiver Gavin Holmes (Justin), defensive back Matt Hankins (Flower Mound) and defensive back Kobe Boyce (Corinth) all have interest in the Hawkeyes.

Mansell told the Killeen (Texas) Daily Herald that Iowa is recruiting Texas hard and he's honored to be a part of it.

'It's pretty cool because those are pretty big-name guys,' Mansell said, 'and a lot of people didn't know about me until a couple of weeks ago.'

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