The Iowa State football program had a very successful day on Wednesday. Four junior college prospects inked at the start of the early signing period. All four prospects will be enrolled at Iowa State during the second semester and will participate in spring football.
“This gets us off to a great start for 2010,” Iowa State football coach Paul Rhoads said in a release. “The best thing about these young men is that they will get a chance to get acclimated academically and participate in winter workouts and be a part of spring football.”
Here’s a quick look at the newest members of the Iowa State football program. All four prospects will be juniors at the start of next season.
Jon Caspers – 6-5, 295-pound OL out of North Dakota State College of Sciences Caspers was named as a NJCAA All-American yesterday.
Rony Nelson – 6-2, 250-pound DE out of Yuba College
For a complete scouting report on Nelson, CLICK HERE.
Anthony Young – 5-9, 180-pound CB out of Palomar College Young recorded 139 tackles, one sack, seven interceptions and 24 pass deflections in two seasons at Palomar. According to Palomar’s football website, Young is “one of the all-time best cover corners” at the school.
Ricky Howard – 6-5, 255-pound TE out of Chaffey College For a complete scouting report on Howard, CLICK HERE.
Chris’ Take
When I look at this list, I see four players who each have a legitimate chance to contribute right away next fall for Iowa State. Two of them could be front-runners to start.
I really think that Anthony Young will be one of the top candidates to replace Kannard Banks next season. Having said that, Paul Rhoads has been very high on freshmen Jacques Washington and Jeremy Reeves all season long. Depth is a good thing, especially when trying to defend against pass-happy Big 12 offenses.
Rony Nelson will have a real shot to start at defensive end next year, opposite of the currently- injured Rashawn Parker, who anticipates to get a fifth year eligibility from the NCAA. Roosevelt Maggit, Cleyon Laing and Patrick Neal will be in the mix as well.
The big plus for all of these guys is exactly what Rhoads pointed out yesterday. They’ll be here all winter long hitting the weights with the team, and learning how the Iowa State coaches want them to play football.
