Football

CAMP RECAP: Second Saturday Night Lights

Iowa State holds its second Saturday Night Lights camp of 2017 in the shadow of Jack Trice Stadium. (Photo by Cyclone Fanatic’s Jared Stansbury)

Iowa State hosted its second, and likely biggest, Saturday Night Lights camp of the summer this weekend. There was a couple of standouts, plus a handful of commits and top targets were on campus and taking in camp.

Here’s a few notes from Saturday night’s action.

A Couple Standouts

*** 2019 Omaha Burke tight end Chris Hickman was in Ames and participated in the camp. The 6-foot-5, 180-pound prospect currently holds offers from Iowa State, Ole Miss and South Dakota State.

Hickman is definitely a pretty big kid for just finishing his sophomore year of high school, but it will be interesting to see how he fills out over the next two years. He’s really skinny and looks like a guy who would project as a flex type player at the next level.

Obviously, it is still incredibly early in his recruitment so things could change in the next several years, but he’ll be a guy to keep an eye on from a neighboring state.

*** 2020 Southeast Polk running back Gavin Williams burst onto the scene last fall during a freshman season that saw him run for 805 yards and seven touchdowns. He holds an Iowa State offer and was in Ames working out with running backs coach Lou Ayeni and going through drills.

Again, it is super early in his recruitment, but he’s a physically impressive athlete who looks like he will be a stud as his high school career progresses.

A couple notes

*** Iowa State commits Re-al Mitchell and Sterling Galban were walking around taking in camp throughout the evening. It looked like both of their families were spending time together, which makes sense considering there is a chance they’ll be roommates when they both arrive on campus as early enrollees.

I will say, Mitchell is pretty physically impressive despite being in the range of 5-foot-11. I continue to believe Iowa State might have struck gold by landing his commitment.

*** Top running back target Ta’Zhawn Henry spent a lot of time walking the sidelines during camp and followed Matt Campbell around most of the time. He is definitely short, but the kid is solidly built and you can see what it is that has him rated as the No. 15 all-purpose back in the country, per 247Composite.

*** It sounded like Texas safety Christian Young‘s visit went well and he left town around 3 p.m. It seems as though there were pretty good vibes coming out of the visit so he might be one to keep an eye on over the next couple weeks.

Jared Stansbury

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Jared a native of Clarinda, Iowa, started as the Cyclone Fanatic intern in August 2013, primarily working as a videographer until starting on the women’s basketball beat prior to the 2014-15 season. Upon earning his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Iowa State in May 2016, Jared was hired as the site’s full-time staff writer, taking over as the primary day-to-day reporter on football and men’s basketball. He was elevated to the position of managing editor in January 2020. He is a regular contributor on 1460 KXNO in Des Moines and makes regular guest appearances on radio stations across the Midwest. Jared resides in Ankeny with his four-year-old puggle, Lolo.

@cyclonefanatic