5 factors that shaped Iowa's 2016 recruiting class

Iowa is running out of tight ends. It's not an emergency and they don't have to open a new drilling site, but you know how Kirk Ferentz likes to roll with lots of two tight end formations.

More specifically, Iowa is kind of running out of 'move' tight ends, the ones who can get vertical and punish defenses who try to cover them with linebackers. That's George Kittle's role for 2016, but he's a senior. Maybe sophomore Jameer Outsey can grow into that kind of a role. And who knows about some of the young, unproven players down the depth chart, including redshirt freshman Nate Vejvoda.

This is why Iowa will sign at least three tight ends with impressive resumes when the national signing period begins this morning.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy's Shaun Beyer, Noah Fant (Omaha, Neb.) and Chariton's T.J. Hockenson are all 6-5 with Beyer and Fant weighing in at 210 and Hockenson at 230. Each has a 3-star rating from Rivals.com and has an impressive list of credentials.

— Beyer played every skill position for Kennedy, including quarterback (he ran some wildcat and threw some passes). He finished the season with 43 catches for 853 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed for 681 yards and five TDs, leading Kennedy to a 13-1 record. Oh, and he can high jump 6-9.

— For Omaha South, where his brother, Chris, was the head coach, Fant caught 46 passes for 570 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also had 20 tackles and 3.5 sacks as a defensive end.

— As a senior, Hockenson finished with 85 catches for 1,228 yards and 17 touchdowns. During his high school career, he finished with a state record 238 receptions for 3,560 yards and 49 touchdowns (also a state record).

Hockenson has always been the tall kid. He moved from Cherokee to Chariton around sixth grade and that's when he kind of became all-time tight end. His athleticism made him a headache for linebackers. His size made him a mismatch for cornerbacks.

'I know I need to improve myself as a blocker, that's the big thing for me,' Hockenson said. 'I've never really done it. I wanted to show (during a camp in Iowa City last summer) that I was willing to block. I got an offer and I think they saw what they needed to.'

Need (1) was a factor for Iowa's 2016 class, it is in every class. Along with move tight end, defensive end was arguably the biggest need for the Hawkeyes, who should sign 25 players Wednesday (barring some late drama). Five defensive ends will sign, including Detroit, Mich., duo Chauncey Golston (6-5, 235) and Cedrick Lattimore (6-4, 251), both of whom played at East English Village (all-American cornerback Desmond King's alma mater) and in the recent International Bowl.

Joining Golston and Lattimore at defensive end are Romeo McKnight (6-5, 230), Austin Schulte (6-4, 250) and Brandon Simon (6-1, 236).

Defensive end isn't a pressing need with sophomores Parker Hesse (who started nine games as a redshirt freshman) and Matt Nelson slotted as starters, but depth and competition are needed.

'We have three years with both those players and they have got all the right stuff...' head coach Kirk Ferentz said, comparing defensive end to where offensive tackle was last season with two new starters. 'It's good. We have some guys coming up behind them, too, that I think have a chance, but we just have to keep pushing that.'

The accelerated recruiting timeline (2) certainly kept the Hawkeyes from cashing in on a 12-0 regular season and their first Rose Bowl appearance in 25 years. Iowa went into the season with 20-some commitments and really had no room to grow with the cap set at 25 (that was the hard number for this class, with scholarships going to walk-ons).

The flip side is the 2017 class is well aware of 12-0 and Rose Bowl and that has started to pay off. Iowa already has five commitments for 2017, led by 4-star defensive lineman A.J. Epenesa.

'There are more eyes and there is more interest, whether it be traffic on social media, which is what's really driving recruiting these days, or wherever,' assistant coach Seth Wallace said during Rose Bowl week. 'In the near future, we're going to be faced with a much larger pool of candidates.'

You started to see the new Hansen Football Performance Center (3) have an influence in recruiting last season. That has continued with the 2016 class. The program moved into the new $55 million facility last summer. The building is now fully operational with everything from massive do-it-all weightroom to eye-popping graphics to a heated room that dries gear and kills bacteria.

'When I first came here, they asked me to go out to lunch with a donor,' offensive coordinator Greg Davis said. 'He asked me a really good question. Those guys who make a lot of money, they're smart. And he said, 'You tell me why you need a new facility.' I said, 'Well, we can coach them in a barn once we get them, but we can't get them to a barn.'

'They need to see commitment. They need to see bricks and mortar. That's part of recruiting now.'

The search for speed (4) has become a factor in recent recruiting classes and has had varying degrees of success. The most noticeable year was 2013, when Iowa signed 10 wide receivers, defensive backs and a few running backs whose obvious best trait was speed. Just four of those players will line up for Iowa next season, wide receivers Matt VandeBerg and Jonathan Parker and running backs Akrum Wadley and Derrick Mitchell Jr. In 2014-15, Iowa signed seven potential speed players, including cornerback Josh Jackson and wide receivers Jerminic Smith, Adrian Falconer and Emmanuel Ogwo.

This year, seven players fit this profile and any one of them could potentially make a splash next fall. The best candidate might be running back Toks Akinribade, a 6-0, 205-pounder who holds the Brownsburg (Ind.) High School 100-meter dash record at 10.97 seconds.

For the second consecutive season, Iowa could potentially feel last-minute heartbreak caused by Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh (5). Last year, Michigan swooped in and got running back Karan Higdon to flip to the Wolverines on signing day morning. This year, Detroit Renaissance offensive tackle Alaric Jackson (6-7, 285) was set to commit to Iowa on Monday, but Michigan came in with a late offer, according to Rivals.com. Jackson, a 3-star recruit, postponed his news conference.

Jackson will announce Wednesday morning. He could be No. 25 for Iowa's 2016 class or another eye gouge from Harbaugh.

Ferentz will embark on his 18th season as Iowa's head coach. He's not one to complain. When Higdon bolted for Michigan last season, he barely flinched during his signing day news conference.

'You just deal with it. If you could draw the script, you'd rather find out [sooner rather than later],' he said. 'In a perfect world you'd rather find out. If it's going to be 'no,' you'd rather find out sooner than later, but the world is not perfect, and you deal with it.'

Or maybe Jackson sticks with Iowa. Maybe. You never know.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com