Football

Football Recruiting Notebook: Five to watch

By Chris Williams, CycloneFanatic.com Publisher

National Signing Day could be somewhat exciting for Iowa State fans this year. That’s what I’m hearing at least. From what I’ve been able to put together, Cyclone football fanatics need to keep an eye on five prospects as we inch closer to Wednesday. Those men are listed below, in no particular order.

Also, note that two in-state walk-on prospects are in Ames this weekend for official visits. CLICK HERE to read that information.

Joshua Grady, 6-foot-1 ATH out of Seffner (Fla.) Armwood

Grady was a quarterback in high school and if he commits to Iowa State, he’d at the very least get a crack at that position in Ames. He’s generally being recruited as an athlete though, so he could really end up anywhere. For Grady, it is down to Iowa State, Wake Forest and South Florida. According to his latest piece at ESPN.com, national recruiting analyst Jamie Newberg believes that Grady will end up at South Florida. But that is nothing more than a prediction.

On Jan. 27, Grady posted the following on his Twitter page. "Last Meeting With Wake And Iowa State , Let’s Seeeeee."

But there’s more to Grady’s story the is developing this weekend.

On Friday, he posted, "Off To Vandy." Earlier today, Grady posted a picture of himself wearing a Vanderbilt jersey. Vanderbilt, who has been recruiting Grady all along, has jumped back into the mix, late in the game. Stay tuned. Grady plans to make his decision at 9 a.m. central time on National Signing Day.

Kaleb Johnson, 6-foot-5, 280-pound OL out of Jacksonville (Fla.) Ed White

According to this report by the Florida Times-Union, members of Iowa State’s coaching staff met with Johnson yesterday. The report also states that new head coach Al Golden and Miami have entered the picture and offered Johnson. Johnson told the paper that he is still “wide-open,” which means that the Cyclones are still very much in contention. Johnson is also still considering North Carolina and Rutgers.

Bojay Filimoeatu, 6-foot-2, 255-pound DL out of Walnut (Calif.) Mt. San Antonio C.C.

According to The Herald Journal in Logan, Utah, Filimoeatu recently committed to Utah State over offers from Iowa State, Kansas State and Arizona.

"I’m pretty excited to play for coach Andersen and the coaching staff over there,” Filimoeatu told the publication. "They have a great coaching staff at Utah State. That’s the main reason why I committed there and dropped a lot of the Big 12’s and Pac-10’s offers, just to play for coach Andersen.”

The quotes look convincing. But I’m not 100 percent sold on this. I’d be surprised if all three of those BCS schools (including Iowa State) don’t make one final run at Filimoeatu before Wednesday. That’s just the way that the recruiting game is played. The chances of him ending up in Ames appear to be slim, but I have yet to wipe this one off of Iowa State’s radar.

Louvan Green, 6-foot-2, 295-pound DT out of Visalia (Calif.) College of Sequoias

Iowa State needs this one. On Wednesday, it will likely come down to the Cyclones, UNLV and Washington State for this JUCO defensive tackle.

Kenneth Lynn, 5-foot-11, 165-pound DB out of Dallas (Tex.) Kimball

Flip a coin. On Tuesday, Scout.com reported that Lynn switched his commitment from Kansas to Iowa State. That was after Lynn had already changed from Iowa State to Kansas. Things look good for the Cyclones right now on this front, but I don’t think anybody inside of the Jacobson Building will truly feel comfortable until that fax comes through on Wednesday.

@cyclonefanatic