Miscellany Hawkeye -- Barta, Insight ring opening bell

Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha defensive tackle Darian Cooper is being recruited by the Hawkeyes.

He's a 6-1, 270-pounder who'll be playing in this weekend's Maryland Crab Bowl, has 15 solid offers and seems to be down to Iowa, Penn State, Michigan State and Georgia Tech.

Of course, DeMatha is the same school Iowa RB Marcus Coker attended. Coker has rushed for 403 yards this season and is Iowa's starter for the Insight Bowl on Dec. 28.

In this video, he talks about the schools he is considering. This video made news with Penn State folks because Cooper said coach Joe Paterno is in it for the long haul ,which is five or six more years.

Here's some video of Cooper at the Crab Bowl. Looks like an Iowa D-lineman -- compact, powerful, high motor.

_________

Yes, Iowa Western OL Dan Heiar has committed to the Hawkeyes. He'll be in Iowa City in January. He's 6-5, 285. I think he's a "two years to play two juco." I hope to talk to him soon.

Here's a link to a YouTube video of him in action for the Reivers (I love that name).

Heiar played his prep football at Northeast Goose Lake. He picked the Hawkeyes over Michigan State.

He's Iowa's 16th recruit and has signed a letter of intent. He graduated from IWCC in December.

_________

Here is the Big Ten bowl release with conference statistics through the season finale (posted this for my reference, but thought you might be interested too).

2010 Release Bowls

Conference Stats 12-14-10

___________

Here's a UI sports info release on Iowa's grad rates:

IOWA RANKS 12TH IN GRADUATION SUCCESS RATE AMONG BOWL-BOUND TEAMS

UI football program also third best among eight Big Ten teams involved in post-season play

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa ranks 12th in Graduation Success Rate (GSR) among the 70 college football teams that will be participating in bowl games in the coming weeks. The UI also ranks third among the eight Big Ten Conference teams that will be participating in post-season events.

Iowa, which will play Missouri in the 2010 Insight Bowl on Dec. 28 in Tempe, Ariz., scored 79 on the 2010 GSR report released by the NCAA in October. That number was 12 points higher than the national average and an all-time high for the UI football program.

Notre Dame, with a GSR of 96, tops the list of bowl-bound teams. The top five also includes Northwestern (95), the U.S. Naval Academy (92), Boston College (90), and the U.S. Air Force Academy (86) and Stanford (86).

Penn State (84) was the only other Big Ten institution to rank ahead of the UI.

The NCAA established the GSR in 2004 and issued its first report in the fall of 2005. The GSR is different from the graduation rate calculated by the U.S. Department of Education. Both provide students a six-year window to graduate. However, the NCAA does not penalize institutions when student-athletes transfer to other colleges, as long as they depart in good academic standing.

In addition, the NCAA's GSR calculation subtracts students who are considered allowable exclusions (those who either die or become permanently disabled, those who leave the school to join the armed forces, foreign services or attend a church mission), as well as those who would have been academically eligible to compete had they returned to the institution.

IOWA FOOTBALL AND THE NCAA'S GRADUATION SUCCESS RATE

2010 Report: 79

2009 Report: 74

2008 Report: 75

2007 Report: 73

2006 Report: 65

2005 Report: 58

___________

Also from UI sports info:

BARTA, INSIGHT OFFICIALS TO RING OPENING BELL

NEW YORK, N.Y. - - University of Iowa Director of Athletics Gary Barta will join officials from Insight Enterprises, Inc. in ringing the NASDAQ Stock Market Opening Bell Friday morning.

In honor of the 22nd Insight Bowl, Ken Lamneck, President and Chief Executive Officer of Insight Enterprises (NSIT), will join Barta and Missouri Head Coach Gary Pinkel. The official ringing will take place Dec. 17 from 8:15 to 8:30 a.m. CT, at the NASDAQ MarketSite, in Times Square.

Iowa (7-5) will meet 14th-ranked Missouri (10-2) in the Insight Bowl, Dec. 28 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. The game will begin at 9 p.m. CT and will be televised by ESPN. The contest will mark the first football game between the two schools since Oct. 15, 1910.

Iowa has been bowl eligible in each of the past 10 seasons and the Hawkeyes are playing in their ninth bowl game under Head Coach Kirk Ferentz. Iowa has claimed January bowl victories at the conclusion of each of the last two seasons.

A live webcast of the NASDAQ Opening Bell is available at http://www.nasdaq.com/about/marketsitetowervideo.asx.