By Chris Williams, CycloneFanatic.com Publisher
Football recruiting has begun to heat up over the past couple of weeks for Paul Rhoads and his Iowa State program. According to CycloneReport.com, Iowa State currently has six verbal commitments for the class of 2011. Three of those prospects happen to be from the state of Iowa. Here’s a brief summary of what has gone down, who is committed and a few tidbits on each prospect.
Jevohn Miller – 6-foot-2, 225-pound linebacker, Brooklyn Guernsey Malcolm in Brooklyn, Iowa
– Miller is the darkhorse of this 2011 class so far. Rivals.com doesn’t even rank him as a top 10 prospect in the state for 2011. The fact that he attends such a small school in BGM, Brooklyn probably has a lot to do with that. As a junior, Miller recorded 127 tackles for his team at the outside linebacker position. Twenty of those tackles were for a loss. According to his Rivals.com player profile, Miller runs a 4.65 40-yard dash and has a 32-inch vertical.
Brock Dagel – 6-foot-7, 245-pound OL out of Washington High in Cherokee, IA
– Finding stats for a high school offensive lineman is not easy. Rivals.com ranks Dagel as the sixth best prospect in the state of Iowa for the class of 2011. Dagel was a member of the Des Moines Registers’s 2A second-team All-State roster last season.
Darian Cotton – 6-foot, 165-pound athlete out of Mount Pleasant, Iowa
– Iowa State’s latest commitment is tabbed to play defensive back in a Cyclone uniform. As a junior at Mount Pleasant, Cotton led his team on the offensive side of the football with 643 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Defensively, Cotton recorded 57 tackles along with two interceptions, while returning one for a touchdown. Rivals.com ranks Cotton as the fifth best prospect in the state of Iowa for the class of 2011. Cotton was named a class 3A Des Moines Register All-State Defensive Second-Team in 2009.
Kyle Boyd – 6-foot-2, 225-pound linebacker out of Horn High School in Mesquite, Tex.
– Boyd chose Iowa State over offers from Wyoming, Texas-San Antonio and Louisiana-Monroe. According to MaxPreps.com, Boyd recorded 82 tackles for Horn as a junior. He was also listed as a All-District 11, 5-A performer in the state of Texas.
Jared Brackens – 6-foot-1, 200-pound defensive back out of North Mesquite High School in Mesquite, Tex.
– According to Brackens’ Rivals.com database, this athletic defensive back chose the Cyclones over offers from Minnesota and UTEP. Rivals.com reports that Brackens runs a 4.5 40-yard dash. Strong safety looks to be the position of the future for Brackens but keep in mind that he currently sits at 200-pounds. If he gets bigger, which college generally does for most players, a move to linebacker isn’t out of the question. Brackens recorded 75 tackles and two interceptions during his junior season at North Mesquite.
Teddy Lampkin – 5-foot-7, 160-pound wide receiver out of Omaha Central (Neb.)
– This speedy wide receiver out of Nebraska appears to be a natural fit for Tom Herman’s spread offense at Iowa State. Lampkin chose Iowa State over an offer from Kansas State and reported interest from other BCS schools, including Nebraska an Iowa. According to the Ames Tribune, Lampkin will also long jump and triple jump for the Iowa State track team. The Tribune also reports that Lampkin has been electronically timed running a 4.37 40-yard dash.
