2019 safety Marcus Fuqua during his unofficial visit to Iowa State for the Cyclones’ 14-7 win over No. 4 TCU.
Marcus Fuqua was blown away.
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound safety from Southfield, Mich. saw a lot more than he expected to during an unofficial visit to Ames for Iowa State’s win over TCU. For that reason, the No. 58 safety in the 2019 class and No. 19 player in Michigan will be keeping close tabs on the Cyclones as his recruitment progresses.
“It was a lot more than I expected,” Fuqua told Cyclone Fanatic in a phone interview Monday night. “It kind of blew my mind how big it was. I didn’t know it was that big.”
“The atmosphere and the fanbase. It was just crazy, especially when everyone rushed the field at the end of the game. That’s something you don’t see often.”
Had a great visit today at Iowa State 🏈 can’t wait to be back 👀@Coach_Heacock @CoachDHoodjer #cyclONEnation #RaiseTheStandard 🌪🌪 pic.twitter.com/byrSyjBdkQ
— Marcus Fuqua 🏴 (@marcusfuq16) October 29, 2017
Iowa State’s defense has been the biggest story of the program’s resurgence and the month-long road towards the top-15 in the latest AP Poll. Jon Heacock‘s group might have had its best performance yet with Fuqua, who landed an offer from Iowa State on Sept. 19, in the stands.
The three-star prospect is already able to envision where he would fit into Iowa State’s scheme.
“The defense they run, I see myself playing that high safety or I could come down into the box,” Fuqua said. “I think I really could fit into it so I like it a lot.”
Iowa State is part of an offer list that includes Buffalo, Toledo, Temple, Syracuse, Army and a few others. He said, along with Iowa State, he hears frequently from major programs Notre Dame, Indiana and Cincinnati, but they have not offered scholarships at this point.
The Southfield High School product said he plans to visit Ames “a couple more” times before his senior season next fall. It is safe to say, the weekend visit and relationships with Iowa State’s defensive staff have done enough to keep the Cyclones squarely on Fuqua’s radar.
“They’re all great people,” Fuqua said. “I already had good relationships with most of the defensive staff, but I got to meet a couple more. They’re just all good people. They actually care about the team and you can tell.”
“I’ll be looking really close at Iowa State.”
