Iowa football recruits experience game they ‘will never forget’ with Hawkeyes’ win over Penn State

IOWA CITY — Before even walking through the gates of Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, Dae’vonn Hall had goose bumps.

“I was so ready for that,” said Hall, a wide receiver in the 2024 recruiting class from Bellevue, Neb.

Those goose bumps continued as Hall — and dozens of other recruits either considering Iowa or already committed — saw the Hawkeyes’ win over then-No. 4 Penn State in person.

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said having so many recruits on campus for the historic win “couldn’t have gone much better.”

“Just a great atmosphere and really pleased that they were here to experience that,” Ferentz said. “Because it's so different than looking on the internet, so different than talking to people or taking somebody's word for it — to really feel it. It’s pretty special.”

Jacob Bostick, a wide receiver in the 2022 recruiting class who already committed to Iowa, said visiting for the game was an experience he “will never forget.”

“I’ve never experienced anything like that,” Bostick said. “That was probably the most fun time I’ve ever had at a college football game.”

Bostick joined Iowa in the locker room after the win, too.

“We got to say stuff to the players and dance with them a little bit,” Bostick said. “It was really cool.”

Bostick thought fellow wideout Tyrone Tracy Jr. was the best dancer on the team.

“He had some moves,” Bostick said.

Bostick also talked to some of the other recruits, including highly-ranked targets Xavier Nwankpa and Kyler Kasper. Will this game push the needle for some of those players?

“Man, I hope so,” he said.

Less than 24 hours after throwing four touchdowns for Ankeny High School, quarterback J.J. Kohl was another of the recruits to experience the “really special environment” Saturday.

“I thought I had the best seats,” said Kohl, who was right above the southwest tunnel where the players walk out to AC/DC’s “Back in Black.”

The 6-foot-6 quarterback in the 2023 recruiting class didn’t realize Kinnick could be as loud as it was on Saturday. Hall, similarly, had “no idea” it could reach that level.

Kohl didn’t even try to rush the field afterward.

“I wouldn’t have been able to get out there,” Kohl said. “There were just herds of people.”

Hall thought about it before coming to same realization Kohl had.

“I saw how many people were going out there, and I was like, ‘Yeah, no, I’m good,’” Hall said. “But it was fun to watch.”

Bostick, on the other hand, “tried.”

“But I don’t know that we were that successful with it,” Bostick said with a laugh. “The student section, man, they were flying down. We got to it at the end, but we didn’t make it to the 50-yard line.”

Hall, who went to the same high school in Nebraska as true freshman wide receiver Keagan Johnson, still has a couple years to make his decision and does not have a timeline for it yet.

Seeing a game like Iowa-Penn State changes how he views the school, though.

“Going to see an atmosphere like they had definitely brings (Iowa) up,” Hall said.

The 2024 prospect also has scholarship offers from Nebraska and Kansas State, according to 247Sports.

Ferentz isn’t going to dwell on the recruiting impact of Saturday’s win too much — at least not in October.

“I'm not a big fan of recruiting in season. I like to focus on the guys that we have recruited,” Ferentz said. “We try to tell people when we recruit them that our full attention will be on your sons if they come here.”

Comments: (319) 398-8394; john.steppe@thegazette.com