By Chris Williams, CycloneFanatic.com PublisherFollow Chris on Twitter @ChrisMWilliams
College football is a year-round sport. Spring ball is in the rearview mirror. Fall camp is three and a half months a way.
How about a little Iowa State football recruiting chatter?
Here’s a list of Iowa high school prospects to keep an eye on over the summer months and into the fall.
Jake Campos, OL, West Des Moines Valley – This 6-foot-7, 245-pound offensive lineman is the most highly-touted prospect in Iowa for 2013. Rivals.com ranks Campos as a 4-star prospect and lists offers from Iowa State, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Oregon, Purdue and Vanderbilt. Campos projects to be a tackle at the next level.
Jon Wisnieski, TE, Dowlwing Catholic – Here’s another athletic West Des Moines big man. At 6-foot-5, 215 pounds, Wisnieski is a Rivals.com 3-star prospect with offers from Iowa State, Iowa, Kansas State, Mississippi, Nebraska and Purdue.
Joel Lanning, QB, Ankeny – Iowa State added a prospect from Paul Rhoads’ old high school in 2012 with kicker Cole Netten joining the program. The Cyclones will attempt to lure another Hawk to Ames in 2013 in quarterback Joel Lanning. At 6-foot-2, 200-pounds, Iowa State is the only school that has offered Lanning at this time. Lanning threw for 1,733 yards and 18 touchdowns as a junior, while only throwing three interceptions along the way. He completed 54.5 percent of his passes. Lanning is a dual-threat quarterback, who ran for 636 yards and five touchdowns too.
Rivals.com lists Lanning as an "athlete," but Iowa State is recruiting him as a quarterback.
Lanning is also a standout baseball player and could see an opportunity in that sport at the next level. What sport does he want to play? That’s something to watch for over the summer.
Sam Raridon, DT, West Des Moines Valley – This 6-foot-2, 256-pound defensive lineman current has an offer from the University of Iowa, but not Iowa State. That doesn’t mean that one won’t come over the next few months though. Raridon’s father played at Nebraska, a school that is also recruiting him.
Dondre Alexander, WR, Iowa City West – Alexander caught 65 passes for 974 yards and five touchdowns for Iowa City West last season. According to his profile at Rivals.com, Alexander currently doesn’t have any offers.
Alexander has recently expressed his interest in playing basketball in college. He led Iowa City West with 16 points and 4.6 rebounds per game last season and was a first-team all-state guard.
Jeremy Morgan, WR, Iowa City West – It’s the same story as Alexander. Morgan, a 6-foot-6, 175-pound wide receiver, caught 44 passes for 724 yards and seven touchdowns last season, but is also a hoops prospect and could go that route.
Ricky Williams, OL, Oakland Riverside – Williams is another two-sport star who can probably go either way in college. At 6-foot-7, 275-pounds, he’d likely be an offensive lineman in football.
Kyle Starcevich, QB, Southeast Polk – HisRivals.com profile doesn’t list any offers, but Starcevich is a prospect that has the ability to play division one football. Starcevich threw for 2,291 yards, 29 touchdowns and eight interceptions as a junior. Starcevich is more of a pro-style quarterback though so I’m not sure if he’d be a great fit with Iowa State’s offense.
Trev Hadachek, ATH, La Porte City Union – He’s got an offer from Eastern Illinois and according to reports, recently visited Minnesota. He’s listed as an athlete and has played some quarterback, but Hadachek projects as a wide receiver at the next level. He caught 44 passes for 684 yards and six touchdowns as a junior.
A few more…
— Waverly-Shell Rock DL Alex Moerer
— Creston ATH Luke Neitzel
— Des Moines East ATH Xavier James
— Sioux City Heelan OL Bryce Sweeney
