2019 Iowa football recruiting rewind
We wrap up our summer look back at Iowa recruiting classes with dive into the group from 2019. This was a pretty solid class on paper, but a few prospects who we thought were going to be significant contributors never panned out for a variety of reasons and it showed up on the field.
As far as ranking, On3.com says this class was 41st in the country and 9th in the Big Ten Conference. How do we view this group now? Some of them still have a year left so things can change, but what jumps out is that 12 of the 21 prospects ended up transferring out of Iowa.
How do they grade out individually with most of the college career completed?
Ezra Miller – OL – 3 Star
Miller set a record for unofficial visits to Iowa during his recruitment. He was all in with the Hawkeyes and really felt like a future star at tackle. But, he had health issues and ended up leaving Iowa early in his career. Since he took a medical, he couldn’t return to Iowa to play again and ended up transferring to Nebraska. Ranking – 3 Star
Logan Lee – TE – 3 Star
When Lee was recruited to Iowa, he was listed as a tight end, but he was going to end up playing defensive line. He settled in at defensive tackle and finally got healthy and moved into the starting lineup. He has started every game the last two years and has 103 tackles, including 13 for loss and 6 sacks. He was honorable mention All Big Ten last year. Ranking – 3 Star
Tyler Endres – OL – 3 Star
The in-state product was with the program for four years and never registered a snap during that time. Ranking – 3 Star
Noah Fenske – OL – 3 Star
Another in-state offensive lineman who really never made an impact in a Hawkeye uniform. He played in one game at Iowa before transferring to Colorado. He started nine game at guard for the Buffs before transferring once again, this time to Southern Illinois. Ranking – 3 Star
Jack Campbell – LB – 3 Star
Clearly, Campbell is the top player from this class. He played as a true freshman, mainly on special teams. He really picked up his playing time in 2020 after missing the first three games of the year. Then his final two seasons, he was one of the best linebackers in the country. He finished his Iowa career with 305 tackles, 13.5 for loss, 3 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 15 passes defended, and 5 interceptions. He was a consensus All American last season, won the Butkus Award, named Big Ten linebacker and defensive player of the year. Ranking – 5 Star
Sebastian Castro – DB – 3 Star
After being more of a special teams player for most of his Iowa career, Castro really started to find his footing in the Iowa lineup this past season. He found a home as Iowa’s “Cash” player last year. He has 39 tackles in his career, 3 for loss, and a pair of forced fumbles. Ranking – 3 Star
Desmond Hutson – WR – 3 Star
The Kansas City area prep looked like he could find a role with the Hawkeyes. He played in a pair of games as a true freshman. Then in his second season, injuries derailed his potential playing time. In his third season, Hutson played in one game. Then he transferred to Northern Iowa where he had a solid first year with the Panthers. Ranking – 3 Star
Jestin Jacobs – LB – 4 Star
Coming out of high school, Jacobs was the highest rated recruit. He redshirted in his first year and then saw action in five games, including one start. Then the following season, Jacobs started eight games. He suffered a season ending injury against Rutgers last year. Following the season, he transferred to Oregon. Jacobs has 63 tackles, including 1. 5 for loss in his Iowa career. He also had one forced fumble and one interception. Ranking – 3 Star
Jake Karchinski – DL – 3 Star
The stay of the Wisconsin native with the Iowa football program was short. He hit the transfer portal after his second year in the program and it doesn’t appear that he played college football again. Ranking – 3 Star
Alex Padilla – QB – 3 Star
During most of his Iowa career, Padilla was the backup quarterback. He redshirted in his first year, then saw action in a pair of games in his second season. The following year, he played in nine games, starting three of them. Last year he played in a pair of games before announcing that he was transferring. For his career, Padilla completed 49% of his passes for 821 yards, 3 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. He is now at SMU as a graduate transfer. Ranking – 3 Star
Jalen Hunt – DL – 3 Star
He signed with Iowa and then had academic issues and looked like he was headed to Iowa Western. But, in August he ends up at Michigan State. Was primarily a backup, but did make a few starts for the Spartans. He ended up transferring after last year, first to Houston and now to Cincinnati. Ranking – 3 Star
Justin Britt – OL – 3 Star
It seems like every class has a what might have been player in it. Britt is that guy in this class. So much promise and potential, but injuries ended his career. He played in 16 games in his Iowa career, making three starts. Britt did not play last season and hit the transfer portal before announcing he was leaving the game of football. Ranking – 3 Star
Dane Belton – DB – 3 Star
One of the really good stories of this class was Belton. The Tampa native came in and made an impact right away. He played in eight games, making four starts as a true freshman. The next season he started every game and earned honorable mention All Big Ten. In his junior year, Belton started every game and earned first team All Big Ten honors. Belton had 112 career tackles, 6.5 for loss, 17 passes deflected, and 5 interception. Ranking – 4 Star
Tyler Goodson – RB – 3 Star
The Georgia native lived up to the hype in his Iowa career. He started four games as a true freshman and then all but one game in the final two seasons in Iowa City. Goodson rushed for 2551 yards and 18 touchdowns in his three years with the Hawkeyes. That included 1151 yards in his final year. He was named third team All Big Ten that season. Ranking – 3 Star
Josiah Miamen – TE – 3 Star
It was a relatively short stay at Iowa for the Illinois tight end. He redshirted as a freshman and then injuries kept him out the following year. The following year, he caught one pass at Iowa before transferring out of the Hawkeye program and landing at Florida International, where he had a solid season in 2022. Ranking – 3 Star
Chris Reames – DL – 3 Star
Reames appears to be stuck in the career backup role for the Hawkeyes. His playing time has pretty much been limited to one-sided games, although his name has popped into the two deeps from time to time. Overall, he has played in 12 games and has three career tackles. Ranking – 3 Star
Yahweh Juedy – LB – 3 Star
The recruitment of Juedy was interesting. He flipped to Iowa relatively late in the process and showed promise on film. But, he never found his groove at Iowa. He redshirted and then didn’t play as a redshirt freshman. At that point he announced he was hitting the portal, but it doesn’t appear that he played anywhere. Ranking – INC
Sam LaPorta – TE – 3 Star
Another great story in this class. LaPorta was more like a wide receiver at the high school level and ended up playing a decently significant amount in his true freshman season. He played in 12 games, starting a pair of them. Overall, LaPorta started 32 games for the Hawkeyes. He finished with 153 receptions for 1786 yards and 5 touchdowns. He earned Big Ten tight end of the year honors this past season, along with being named first team All Big Ten. Ranking – 4 Star
Daraun McKinney – DB – 3 Star
A somewhat common theme with this class is leaving around two years into the grind at Iowa. That was the case with McKinney, who left in November of the 2020 season. He ended up at South Dakota, where he played well and then he has now transferred to Central Michigan. Ranking – 3 Star
Shadrick Byrd – RB – 3 Star
Ironically, Byrd announced his decision to leave Iowa the same day at McKinney. He posted no stats while he was a Hawkeye. In the last two years, he has started at Charlotte and rushed for over 1200 yards. Ranking – 3 Star
Jermari Harris – DB – 3 Star
It feels like if any player could see their star ranking improve this season it would be Harris. He finished the 2021 season very strong, performing well as a starter against Kentucky. But, last season he was sidelined due to off-season surgery. Overall, Harris started six games in 2021 and had four interceptions. Ranking 3 Star
Taajhir McCall – DL – 3 Star
Not a whole lot to discuss with McCall. He redshirted in 2019 and then opted out due to Covid in 2020. After that, it appears he just walked away from football. Ranking – 3 Star
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