Iowa football recruiting Class of 2022: List of verbal commits

IOWA CITY — The long-awaited end of the dead period is finally here, which means Iowa expects to add a number of verbal commitments to its Class of 2022 this summer.

Local products looking to get noticed will be making camp appearances throughout the month of June, while top prospects are expected to make their official visits the weekend of June 25.

To help you keep up with the new athletes coming to campus, The Gazette will keep a running list of verbal commitments here throughout the summer.

Ballard High School offensive tackle Kale Krogh became the fifth verbal commitment in Iowa’s 2022 class on Tuesday, June 15.

According to 247Sports, Krogh is the No. 7 recruit out of the state of Iowa and No. 71 offensive tackle nationally at 6 feet, 6 inches and 265 pounds.

Krogh had a crazy camp schedule this June, traveling to five camps in five days, with his visit to Iowa City being his last. He returned last Friday on an unofficial visit, met with current players Mason Richman, Cody Ince and Tyler Linderbaum and knew Iowa was the place for him, but took the weekend to sit on the decision before committing.

From left, Iowa redshirt freshman Mason Richman, Kale Krogh, Iowa junior Cody Ince and junior Tyler Linderbaum. (Submitted photo)

He had been in conversations with Iowa since his freshman year, and was even offered by offensive line coach George Barnett while he was at Tulane, but he did not receive an offer from Iowa until he went to camp on June 5. Going into his week of camps, Krogh had one Power Five offer at Minnesota.

“He (Barnett) offered me a couple into his job at Tulane, and then when he came to Iowa, I thought this is the best situation for me because this guy thinks really highly of me I really like him.”

As a multisport athlete in football, basketball and track, Krogh plans to also wrestle his senior year. He’s already started the training and loves it. On May 26, Krogh said he had maxed out on bench at 280 pounds and 415 pounds on his back squat. He's even played basketball against fellow member of the Class of 2022, Aaron Graves, and had the chance to battle him one-on-one at Iowa's camp.

“The camp itself was super physical, by far the most physical camp I've been at,” Krogh said. “That was good to see because I believe in physical football, and that's the best way to see it: with all that context.”

Krogh is also a good student, which attracted many Ivy League schools. His dream is to play in the NFL, but if not, he plans to pursue an area of medicine that deals with athletes.

“I was joking with my friends about the physical aspect of it, I can hit somebody as hard as I can I don’t get in trouble for it,” Krogh said in May. “Normally, I’m a nice, gentle person but in football, I can just like turn on a switch and if you’re across the line from me, you're in trouble.”

Twitter

Three-star linebacker Jayden Montgomery became the Hawkeyes’ fourth addition to its 2022 recruiting class on Tuesday, June 8.

Standing at 5-foot-11, 205 pounds, the Bay Port High School athlete is the son of current Green Bay Packers defensive line coach and former Hawkeye player and graduate assistant coach, Jerry Montgomery. Montgomery had seven offers, including Troy, North Dakota State and Northern Iowa, according to 247Sports.

According to Wisconsin Sports Network, Montgomery had 51 tackles, including 30 solo, 10 for loss and two sacks through four games played in the spring 2020 season. As a sophomore in 2019, Montgomery had 80 total tackles, including 33 solo, 11 for loss and two sacks.

Twitter

On June 2, Dotzler became the third commitment in Iowa’s 2022 class.

The 6-foot-7, 265-pound three-star offensive tackle from Wisconsin grew up bleeding black and gold since his dad attended Iowa, so it was only a matter of time before he declared Iowa his home. He is also high school teammates with three-star tight end Andrew Keller, who is on Iowa’s watch list. Waunakee High School went 7-0 in the 2020 season.

Dotzler is the No. 9 offensive tackle product out of the state of Wisconsin and ranks No. 63 nationally at the position. Dotzler also played basketball for Waunakee High School.

Twitter

Southeast Valley’s Aaron Graves was the first of Iowa’s verbal commitments back in June of 2019, according to 247Sports.

The four-star athlete stands at 6 feet, 5.5 inches and 260 pounds and is the No. 2 prospect out of the state of Iowa. He is No. 14 nationally in the defensive line position group.

As a junior at Class 1A Southeast Valley, Graves recorded 50.5 total tackles, including 36 solo, 8.5 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss through 10 games, aiding in his team’s journey to the state quarterfinals. He plans to attend Iowa’s camp on Saturday, June 5, while also participating in the official visit weekend on June 25.

“I'm already committed, so I’m not trying to pick up an offer, it's basically like an organized practice,” Graves said. “Just excited to be coached by them firsthand and meet some of the recruits.”

Graves’ dad, Mark Graves, played football for Northwestern, but Graves has grown up a fan of the Hawkeyes. His dad was the defensive line coach at Southeast Valley during his freshman and sophomore years before moving up to defensive coordinator for Aaron’s junior year.

What attracted Aaron to Iowa was his relationships with the coaches and the strength and conditioning program. Coach Kelvin Bell, who he said connected him with fellow recruit Caden Crawford, sends Aaron videos of drills his dad can also incorporate into his high school practices.

Caden Crawford, a 6-foot-5, 239 pound-athlete has played linebacker and quarterback during his high school career, but was recruited as a potential defensive line product for Iowa.

“I really liked Coach (Kelvin) Bell, he’d watch my film and tell me what I needed to work on,” Crawford said. “With dead period getting pushed back, I was ready to make my decision.”

Crawford visited campus unofficially for one of the spring games in April alongside other recruits, but wasn’t able to talk to coaches because of the dead period. He said it was the first time he had seen the school in person. It was the relationships with the coaches and with fellow Hawkeye recruit Aaron Graves that sold him on the school.

He’s currently the No. 2 prospect out of the state of Kansas and is the No. 72 defensive lineman nationally, according to 247Sports. During his junior season at Class 4A Lansing High School in Kansas, Crawford threw for 1,089 yards, including 12 touchdowns through nine games played. He saw himself pursuing football at the next level as a quarterback until he was pulled up to varsity to play defense during his sophomore year, then he fell in love with the physicality of the game. During his junior year, he took on the starting position as quarterback, playing both sides of the ball.

At linebacker, he tallied 60 tackles, including 38 solo and one sack.

Crawford said he doesn’t have plans to visit Iowa this summer yet, but is working on defensive line drills to prepare for more reps at the position this fall.

“We run a four-man front usually, but we’re going to switch it up this year,” Crawford said. “Instead of me being exclusively outside linebacker, we’ll switch it and depending on what the team needs I’ll slide down, put my hand in the dirt. I’m pretty much a hybrid right now.”

Twitter

Comments: (319)-398-8387, leah.vann@thegazette.com