Duzey is TE No. 3

[caption id="attachment_144767" align="aligncenter" width="432" caption="Jake Duzey (44) of Athens goes up for a shot betwen Brian Wandschneider (32) and Alex Mayo (10) of Lake Orion in OAA White Division basketball last season. (Oakland, Mich., Daily Tribune/Ray J. Skowronek)"]

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Jake Duzey has played wide receiver for Troy (Mich.) Athens High School since he stepped onto the football field.

And why not? He's 6-foot-4, 225 pounds. At the MichiganPreps.com combine in March, Duzey ran a 4.49-second 40, a 4.28-second 10-yard shuttle and marked a vertical leap at 33 inches.

In college, Duzey is looking at tight end. That's why last week he looked at Iowa and committed.

Iowa has an excellent track record with tight ends under coach Kirk Ferentz, with eight making it into the NFL either through draft or free agency.

Iowa uses a lot of double-tight end formations and it looks as though it plans to use more in the future. Duzey was the third tight end to commit to the Hawkeyes for the 2011 recruiting class, joining Ohio's Ray Hamilton and Mount Pleasant's Henry Kreiger-Coble.

"I'm going to play tight end [at Iowa], but I'm not just going to block, I'm going to move around," Duzey said. "I'm going to start working on blocking, but I'm still going to play some wide receiver and H-back this year."

Duzey picked Iowa over Oregon. He had 10 other offers, including Purdue, Michigan State and Cincinnati. He's also serious about playing with his hand on the ground. This fall, he'll move from safety/linebacker to defensive end.

"Yes, I know the NFL-Iowa tight end thing and it's my dream to go to the NFL," Duzey said, "but I was just looking for a place to work hard."

In fall 2011, Iowa could have as many as 10 tight ends on scholarship. That's OK with Duzey.

"I talked to coaches about the two tight ends coming in with my class," Duzey said. "I guess there are different plans for each of us."

You might've notice the proliferation of 7-on-7 football competitions on ESPN and other TV sports outlets this summer.

It's a burgeoning world. SI.com's Andy Staples has a five-part series on what he termed "travel football."

For Duzey, and a lot of prep athletes in the midwest, the 7-on-7 circuit is a chunk of their summers. Duzey's Athens High School will participate in at least five 7-on-7 tournaments this summer.

"We're going to two tournaments and you'll play five games in a day, and maybe a championship game," Duzey said. "Then, we're going to a few that are just two other schools. So, we'll just play both schools twice."

Does it help your football skills?

"I think it helps me, a lot," Duzey said. "I also enjoy it. I enjoy the competition."

Duzey is Iowa's ninth commitment. Rochester, Ill., defensive end Riley McMinn committed to the Hawkeyes Sunday evening and is No. 10.

________

Riley McMinn, 6-7, 220, DE, Rochester (Ill.) High School

Jake Duzey, 6-4, 225, TE, Athens High School (Troy, Michigan)

Jake Rudock, 6-3, 185, QB, St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

John Raymon, 6-5, 240, DE, Council Rock North High School (New Town, Penn.)

Ray Hamilton, 6-5, 225, TE, Strongsville (Ohio) High School

Austin Vincent, 6-2, 170, WR, DeSoto (Texas) High School

Henry Krieger-Coble, 6-4, 220, TE, Mount Pleasant High School

Austin Blythe, 6-3, 280, OL, Williamsburg High School

Marcus Grant, 6-2, 190, WR Lawrence Academy (Groton, Mass.)

JaCorey Shepherd, 5-11, 170, WR, Horn High School (Mesquite, Texas)