St. Louis receiver gives Iowa No. 10

Iowa took serious looks at receivers in the last couple of weeks.

Indiana wide receiver Mike Rogers had an Iowa offer, but with some academic questions, he opted for Bowling Green. Detroit wideout Mycial Allen announced to the world last weekend that he picked the Hawkeyes. He had yet to visit Iowa City and later pulled back on the commitment.

Thursday, this wide receiver recruiting thing worked for the Hawkeyes.

Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.) High School's Derrick Mitchell Jr. picked the Hawkeyes over Nebraska, Cincinnati, Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas and Kansas State, according to HawkeyeReport.com. The 6-0, 185-pounder had nine offers overall with Iowa's being the first back in February.

Mitchell played quarterback for Vashon last season and was extremely productive. He passed for 808 yards, rushed for 518 and picked up 277 yards receiving. He also scored 15 touchdowns. On defense, Mitchell had 39 tackles and an interception. According to HawkeyeReport, Mitchell also was recruited on defense. Missouri and Arkansas also have shown interest. Missouri is the home-state school and could jump into the competition, but it has yet to offer Mitchell.

Mitchell's recruitment was credited to Iowa recruiting coordinator Eric Johnson, who's done extremely well for Iowa in the St. Louis area. Along with NFL Hawkeyes Adrian Clayborn and Marvin McNutt, Johnson recruited starting outside linebacker Christian Kirksey and reserve wide receiver Don Shumpert.

"He's a big-time player for us. Very productive, very skillful, very aggressive and very talented," Vashon coach Reginald Ferguson told Rivals.com. "Very strong, very confident and he has a real good head on his shoulders."

Mitchell is Iowa's 10th commitment and second wide receiver named Derrick, joining Rock Island (Ill.) High School's Derrick Willies.

David Kenney, DE, 6-2, 250 Pike High School (Indianapolis, Ind.) ****

Derrick Willies, WR, 6-3, 190 Rock Island (Ill.) High School ***

Delano Hill, FS, 6-1, 190 Cass Tech High School (Detroit, Mich.) ***

Colin Goebel, OL 6-4, 275 Naperville (Ill.) North High School ***

Nathan Bazata, DT, 6-2, 270 Howells (Neb.) High School ***

Brant Gressel, DT, 6-2, 283 Centerville (Ohio) High School ***

John Kenny, LB, 6-2, 210 Caramel (Ind.) High School ***

Nic Shimonek, QB, 6-4, 205 Mildred (Corsicana, Texas) High School ***

Malik Rucker, CB, 6-0, 175 Cooper (New Hope, Minn.) High School ***

Derrick Mitchell, Jr., WR, 6-0, 185 Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.) High School ***

* = Rivals.com's star rating