Marc Morehouse, CR Gazette –
Iowa told Caramel (Ind.) linebacker John Kenny he was one of their top linebacker prospects. Kenny visited Arizona, but had already locked in on the Hawkeyes and that was that.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder announced his commitment Friday, choosing Iowa over the Wildcats, Boise State, Illinois, Indiana and Northwestern. He is Iowa’s seventh commitment for the 2013 class, a unprecedented early hot streak for an Iowa recruiting class that should be in the range of 17 to 20.
Recruiting coordinator Eric Johnson was the primary recruiter with an assist from linebackers coach LeVar Woods.
“I feel really comfortable with coach Woods,” Kenny told HawkeyeReport.com. “The first time that we met, l loved the way he ran the meetings and worked at practice. He is a good guy off the field and easy to talk to and he can get after it a bit in the meetings and on the field. He tells you what you need to hear and I appreciate that from a coach.”
Iowa wasn’t kidding when it said Kenny was its top linebacker prospect. Iowa coaches told Kenny he would start out at outside linebacker (Leo in Iowa’s system), but could grow into an inside linebacker. Iowa offered just two inside linebackers, Kenny and Missouri’s Nick Ramirez, who has committed to the Tigers. So, this was a strategic strike for Iowa, which goes into 2012 with three junior starters at linebacker.
Iowa has only two other linebacker offers out to players who haven’t committed, Fort Wayne, Ind., Jaylon Smith and Mike Mitchell of Plano, Texas.
Kenny is the second Indiana prep to commit to the Hawkeyes for 2013. He joins Pike (Indianapolis) defensive end David Kenney.
‘We have been texting back and forth for a while and I know he loves Iowa,” Kenny said. “He’s visited there four or five times. He has been helping me in terms of talking back and forth, but he didn’t really pressure me to come to Iowa. It will be awesome to have someone that I know and feel comfortable with going there with me.”
Next: Could be Mike Rogers, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound wide receiver from Fort Wayne (Ind.) Bishop Luers. He told HawkeyeReport.com that Iowa is at the top of his list and he’s planning a visit soon. His best offer after Iowa is Bowling Green. Iowa also was his first offer.
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David Kenney, DE, 6-2, 250 Pike High School (Indianapolis, Ind.) ****
Derrick Willies, WR, 6-3, 190 Rock Island (Ill.) High School ***
Delano Hill, FS, 6-1, 190 Cass Tech High School (Detroit, Mich.) ***
Colin Goebel, OL 6-4, 275 Naperville (Ill.) North High School ***
Nathan Bazata, DT, 6-2, 270 Howells (Neb.) High School ***
Brant Gressel, DT, 6-2, 283 Centerville (Ohio) High School ***
John Kenny, LB, 6-2, 210 Caramel (Ind.) High School ***
* = Rivals.com’s star rating
