Early work paid off for Iowa football recruiting

With the calendar ready to turn to the month of February, the world of college football turns its attention to national signing day.

Each year on the first Wednesday of February, thousands of high school football players put pen to paper and fulfill their dream of being a scholarship athlete. For Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa football program, it's a moment that has been building for more than a year.

For the Hawkeyes, this class was basically almost entirely complete before they started on their record-setting journey to a 12-0 regular season. Iowa is set to sign 25 student-athletes on Wednesday morning and a record-setting 23 of those prospects were verbally committed to the program before the end of August.

With most of the hay already in the barn, there wasn't a lot of drama leading up to signing day. The majority of the needs in this class for the Hawkeyes already were filled.

The biggest area of need was along the defensive line at the end position where the Hawkeyes will sign five prospects. Leading the way are a pair of talented prospects from Detroit — three-star players Cedric Lattimore and Chauncey Golston. Also joining from the end position will be Romeo McKnight from Illinois, Brandon Simon from New Jersey and Austin Schulte from Pella. McKnight and Schulte are recovering from ACL injuries sustained during their senior year.

Last year, Iowa didn't have a big class of defensive backs. This year it will sign four players, all from out of state. Leading that group is Amani Hooker out of Minnesota, who has drawn comparisons to Micah Hyde. Completing that group are fellow three-star prospects Lance Billings from Ohio and Emmanuel Rugamba from Illinois. Iowa also will sign two-star defensive back Cedric Boswell from Michigan.

The linebacker group will have a couple of familiar names added to the Iowa roster. Nick Niemann, a three-star prospect and brother of current Hawk Ben Niemann, will sign, along with Kyle Taylor, a three-star linebacker who is the brother of Iowa safety Miles Taylor. Two other three-star linebackers are signing with Iowa — Amani Jones and Barrington Wade, both from Illinois.

On the offensive side, after signing two in-state quarterbacks last year, the Hawkeyes will sign just one, Wisconsin three-star prospect Nathan Stanley.

Iowa will ink a pair of running backs in three-stars Toren Young from Wisconsin and Toks Akinrabade from Indiana.

At wide receiver, the Hawkeyes will have a smaller group this year that includes a pair of two-star prospects — Devonte Young from Maryland and Frank Darby from New Jersey.

One position Iowa did go heavy on this year is at tight end. Leading that group is Cedar Rapids Kennedy standout Shaun Beyer. Also joining the Hawkeyes are three-star tight ends Noah Fant from Nebraska, T.J. Hockenson from Chariton and Kristen Welsh from Wisconsin.

Rounding out this class on the offensive line are two home-grown prospects. Spencer Williams from Cedar Falls will be signing with the Hawkeyes along with Cole Banwart from Algona.

During the summer months, Iowa was among the top 25 in the recruiting rankings on Rivals.com. By the time signing day arrives, the Hawkeyes should be somewhere between 35-40 in the Rivals.com national team rankings.