Grayshirt commit = first recruit for 2014

Matt Vandeberg announced on his Twitter account last night that he accepted a grayshirt offer to play football at the University of Iowa.

Now, what that means is Vandeberg will enroll next fall, but will not be on scholarship until the spring semester. His scholarship won't count as part of the 2013 class, which is running out of free rides if it already hasn't. Also, grayshirt recruits generally don't enroll as full-time students and aren't allowed to practice until spring of their first year.

The Brandon (S.D.) Valley prep caught 67 passes (1,081 yards), fourth for a season in South Dakota prep history, with 16 TDs, which is second all-time in South Dakota. He also had 53 tackles and nine interceptions on defense. He was a first-team all-state selection last season.

Vandeberg, 6-1, 168, also received interest from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa State and North Dakota State. Iowa was his only offer at this point. At the South Dakota Class 2A state track meet this spring, Vandeberg won the long jump (22-feet-6 3/4) and triple jump (44-10 3/4) and finished fourth in the 100 meters (11.42 seconds).

Vandeberg told HawkeyeReport.com that he could end up at wide receiver or free safety. He played both positions at Iowa's high school camp in June. He also attended the recent "Hawkeye Tailgate" event for recruits, an on-campus gathering of mostly high school juniors.

Vandeberg said he talked to senior strong safety Tommy Donatell about enrolling as a grayshirt, which is the route Donatell took when he arrived at Iowa in '08.

"I don't know what I was waiting for," Vandeberg told HR.com. "It's hard to turn down a chance to have your college paid for. I knew that was what's on the table, so I figured I might as well get it over and done with."

Iowa has had many cases where players were recruited as grayshirts, but they eventually received full offers before fall semester of their freshmen year. Former Hawkeye and Philadelphia Eagles O-lineman Julian Vandervelde was supposed to be a grayshirt. Current Hawkeyes defensive end Dominic Alvis also received an upgrade. Fullback Jacob Reisen started his career as a grayshirt.

Technically, Vandeberg is recruit No. 1 for the 2014 class.