National Signing Day is less than 24 hours away and Iowa State’s work on the recruiting trail is nearly done for its 2017 class. On Wednesday, we will highlight some of the players that have a chance to make an impact early in their Iowa State careers.
Today, we are looking at some of the more under-the-radar members of Iowa State’s class that could end up filling solid roles in Cardinal and Gold.
Charlie Kolar
The tight end in Iowa State’s class made his pledge to the Cyclones in all the way back in June. Iowa State was Kolar’s first and until recently only, Power 5 offer and family connections in the state played a role in his decision to commit.
The 6-foot-6, 227-pound three-star went on to have a monster final season at Norman North while catching 59 passes for 1,120 yards and 11 touchdowns. His senior film was impressive enough that he earned a late offer from in-state school Oklahoma State, where his brother is a quarterback, on Sunday.
Luckily for Iowa State, it didn’t take him long to reaffirm he’s going to be a Cyclone.
Extremely grateful for the offer from Oklahoma State but I’m a cyclone #CycloneSquad17 🌪🌪
— Charlie Kolar (@charliek333) January 31, 2017
Kolar adds another long, big-bodied playmaker to Iowa State’s tight end group. He will come to Ames in a similar mold to freshman tight end Chase Allen, although without quite as many suitors.
The Oklahoma product fits the mold of what Iowa State wants at tight end and could put together a solid career in Ames before he’s done.
Jeff Nogaj
Nogaj, an offensive lineman from Johnstown, Ohio, might be the definition of under-the-radar in today’s recruiting landscape. He doesn’t do many interviews. He’s only tweeted five times, including once at Matt Campbell, then at Toledo, in 2015.
In fact, Campbell and Tom Manning are the only schools that have publicly offered Nogaj. They did so before leaving the Rockets then again when they arrived in Ames.
Rated as the No. 130 offensive tackle in the class by 247Composite, the 6-foot-5, 291-pound prospect didn’t really mess around with the recruiting process. He made his commitment to Iowa State on April 9 and then stuck to it.
He didn’t really go to camps or any of the other stuff it takes to get noticed by a lot of college coaches. He found his fit with Manning and Campbell and it sounds like that mentality will fit perfect with them.
Tarique Milton
Although not officially in the class right now, I expect Milton to be the final member to join the fold on National Signing Day. The 5-foot-11, 165-pound pass catcher put up huge numbers as a senior, but would be the lowest-rated player in Iowa State’s class.
The Manatee, Fla. native also holds offers from Michigan State, Kentucky, Louisville and a handful of other schools. He officially visited Ames the weekend of Sept. 23-25 then didn’t take another visit.
After catching 64 passes for 1,087 yards and 17 touchdowns, plus running for four more, Milton seems like he could be a diamond in the rough type player for Iowa State.
He put this tweet out on Tuesday:
I’ll take that last spot on Wednesday 🤘🏽📝😈
— ✨Be Great Uno✨1⃣ (@ElamarDaGreat) January 31, 2017
