Ohiowa

The University of Iowa has made some headway recruiting Ohio. At least, on the surface, that's what you'd think.

Iowa has 13 players on its roster from Ohio, including quarterback Ricky Stanzi (Mentor), wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos (Campbell) and cornerback Micah Hyde (Fostoria).

Last February, Iowa signed three players from the state, cornerback B.J. Lowery (Cincinnati), safety Anthony Hitchens (Lorain) and offensive lineman Andrew Donnal (Monclova).

They joined Clevelanders D-tackle Steve Bigach, D-end Lebron Daniel, linebacker Bruce Davis and cornerback William Lowe. There's also D-lineman Joe Gaglione (Novelty), fullback Brad Rogers (Toledo) and tight end Zach Furlong (Xenia).

That is a good haul, but Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz would characterize Ohio recruiting more like fighting for a spot in line behind Ohio State and coach Jim Tressel.

"I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I'm chuckling," Ferentz said when asked about butting heads with Tressel on the recruiting trail. "That's not how it works."

What Ferentz says is true. Ohio State gave Stanzi, who prepped at Lake Catholic, a look but never an offer. He went to a camp on the OSU campus and that was as far as it went, he said. Johnson-Koulianos was looked at as a walk-on.

"In a nutshell, you let Ohio State take their guys and then you go from there," Ferentz said. "That's how it works, I think."

Also pitching into the Hawkeyes' Ohio recruiting effort are offensive line coach Reese Morgan and defensive backs coach Phil Parker, both are from Lorain.

By the way, Ohio State has no Iowans on its roster.