On Iowa Daily Briefing 4.23.12 -- There were recruits

HAWKEYE STUFF

So, spring recruiting-palooza happened while I was in a Jetta headed toward Kansas City.

On Saturday, Naperville (Ill.) offensive lineman Colin Goebel picked the Hawkeyes. Then Sunday, Howells (Neb.) defensive tackle Nathan Bazata (6-2, 270 pounds) committed to Iowa, giving the Hawkeyes five commits before the end of April.

This is high-water territory. In the last three years, Iowa has had six, five and five commitments by the end of June. This year's five commits come before Iowa's prep camps, which are usually good for two or three. So, yes, ahead of schedule.

That, of course, comes with the burden of keeping recruits in the fold, which would be tremendously helped by an early signing period, but let's not even get into that because it's not happening. (I believe this gives the big dogs an advantage. They can jump in at the end and put stars in a kid's eyes and pull a Jenga on another school's recruiting class. All is fair in a game of cutthroat with many, many rules and shadowy ethics.)

Iowa continues to fortify the lines of scrimmage. According to Hawkeyereport.com, the Hawkeyes also had Ohio defensive tackle Brant Gressel in for a visit last weekend. Also from HR.com, Ohio wide receiver Kevin Gladney also visited. Recuriting coordinator/D-line assistant Eric Johnson tweeted that he was on his way to Indianapolis in search of more Hawkeyes.

For an idea how the rest of the Big Ten is doing, check this post from last week. I think Northwestern has gotten on the board since last week.

Quick refresher on recruiting territories for assistant coaches: OL coach Brian Ferentz has Ohio, LB coach LeVar Woods has KC/Dallas with concentration on Dallas, WR coach Erik Campbell has Michigan, RB coach Lester Erb has Chicago/Illinois, DL coach Reese Morgan has Iowa/Nebraska. Johnson will handle . . . well, Ferentz made it sound as though anywhere, anytime, although Johnson has had major success in St. Louis (Adrian Clayborn and Marvin McNutt) and will likely keep those ties working.

Coordinators Phil Parker and Greg Davis won't be primary recruiters, but will jump in when needed and use their contacts (Parker has Michigan and Ohio ties; Davis said 20 prep coaches in Texas called him when he was hired at Iowa) when needed.

Remember, Johnson's job is mostly rooted in recruiting.

"And the No.1 driving force there is just the way recruiting continues to change and evolve, I just think the demands of that segment of our organization are so, so strong, my goal was to get Eric in a position where he could dedicate more time to that area," Kirk Ferentz said. "So, he's doing a lot of work for us in regards to our personnel. I think it's a critical job certainly and always has been.

"I just think with the ever-changing face of recruiting, it was something that could really benefit our staff and Eric has done a great job in that role and has done it for many years. As I said his responsibilities will increase."

-- Marc Morehouse

LINKED IN

-- Lots of love for former Iowa OL Riley Reiff coming out of his homestate of South Dakota. Here's a post from The Daily Republic in Mitchell, home of the Corn Palace, of course. Nothing from Deadwood, yet.

-- Want a Northwestern football spring primer? Of course you do. Here's one from Chicago Sports Guru.

-- Boring has been good for Michigan State this spring, writes the Detroit News' Matt Charboneau.

-- Marc Morehouse

WIDE WORLD OF LINKAGE

-- With spring football out of the way for all Big Ten teams saved for Michigan State and Wisconsin, Lee Barfknecht of the Omaha World-Herald looks at the Legends Division. Lee's questions about Iowa are the same ones we all have.

-- The Sporting News ranks its top 25 college football players for the 2012 season. Four are from the Big Ten. One is a quarterback. One is a Boilermaker.

-- Some schools give their athletic directors the room and the trust to fill football head coaching openings. Others get bogged down in two words that are toxic to many fans: Search committees. Bud Withers of the Seattle Times has an interesting feature on how coaches are hired.

-- No Big Ten team ranked in the top 44 in college baseball attendance last year. But one will this year, because the league now has Nebraska. And visiting Big Ten players like it, as Jon Nyatama of the Omaha World-Herald elaborates.

-- Mike Hlas