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Iowa signs 21 to letters of intent

Sports

February 6th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz never pays much attention to recruiting rankings. That’s a trait that could serve him well this week. The Hawkeyes announced their latest class on Wednesday, a group that recruiting services have rated near the bottom of the Big Ten. The 21-player class is ranked 52nd nationally by both Rivals.com and Scout.com. Rivals has the class slotted eighth in the 12-school league while Scout ranks it 10th.

Those aren’t the kind of numbers likely to entice a fan base that watched Iowa finished last season with six straight losses and a 4-8 record. But coach Kirk Ferentz said he couldn’t tell much difference between this year’s class and last year’s — which was ranked in the top half of the Big Ten. The list of recruits is as follows:

Nathan Bazata, dt, 6-2, 280, Howells (Neb.) High.

Ike Boettger, te, 6-6, 235, Cedar Falls (Iowa) High.

LeShun Daniels, rb, 6-0, 215, Harding (Ohio) High.

Colin Goebel, ol, 6-5, 280, Naperville North (Ill.) High.

Brant Gressel, dt, 6-2, 280, Centreville (Ohio) High

Andre Harris, wr, 6-0, 170, Kirkwood (Mo.) High.

Josey Jewell, lb, 6-2, 200, Decorah (Iowa) High

Anjeus Jones, wr 6-3, 190, South Oak Cliff High, Dallas

John Kenny, lb, 6-2, 215, Carmel (High), Ind.

Desmond King, cb, 5-11, 185, East English Village Prep, Detroit.

Derrick Mitchell, s, 6-1, 190, Vashon High, St. Louis.

Johnathan Parker, rb, 5-11, 180, Christian Brothers High, St. Louis.

Damond Powell, wr, 5-11, 180, Snow (Utah) CC, Ephraim, Utah

Malik Rucker, s, 6-0, 170, Robbinsdale Cooper High, New Hope, Minn.

Nic Shimonek, qb, 6-4, 196, Mildred High, Corsicana, Tex.

Akrum Wadley, rb, 5-11, 170, Weequahic High, Newark, N.J.

Solomon Warfield, s, 6-0, 185, St. Edward High, Lakewood, Ohio.

Sean Welsh, ol, 6-3, 285, Springboro (Ohio) High.

Derrick Willies, wr, 6-4, 205, Rock Island (Ill.) High, Ill.

Jon Wisnieski, te, 6-5, 220, Dowling Catholic High, West Des Moines, Iowa.