With the 2018 recruiting cycle in the rearview mirror, it is time to turn our full attention towards 2019. We will start that process by taking a few minutes to look at the top-five in-state prospects according to 247Composite for this cycle and where their recruitment stands with roughly 10 months until the early signing period kicks off in December.
First of all, I will note that Iowa State currently holds a commitment from only one of the top-five prospects, but several top Cyclone targets or commits sit right outside the top group, including Cedar Falls linebacker, and longtime Iowa State priority, Jack Campbell and Valley offensive lineman Jack Remsburg, who became the Cyclones’ first commitment in the 2019 recruiting class back in December.
Now, here’s the top-five prospects from the state of Iowa for the 2019 recruiting class.
1 – Ezra Miller, Offensive Line, Ridge View
Iowa State jumped head-on into Miller’s recruitment with an offer last April when the 6-foot-6, 275-pound offensive tackle took an unofficial visit to Ames for the Cyclones’ spring game. Matt Campbell and Co. were the second staff to offer the state’s top in-state prospect and the No. 27 offensive tackle in the country, which ultimately made it unsurprising when Miller announced his pledge to Iowa on April 22.
Miller took several unofficial visits to Ames before announcing his commitment but in the end, he became the first of the state’s top-two offensive linemen to choose the Hawkeyes.
2 – Tyler Endres, Offensive Line, Norwalk
Iowa State was the first school to offer Endres, who is rated as the No. 29 offensive tackle in the class, all the way back in Oct. 2016. The offer was followed by four unofficial visits to Ames before the 6-foot-6, 285-pound received a scholarship offer from Iowa on March 5 of last year.
Endres visited Ames one more time in April then attended a camp at Iowa State in June, but announced his commitment to Iowa, over offers from the Cyclones, Wisconsin and Minnesota, on June 24.
3 – Max Duggan, Quarterback, Lewis Central
Duggan has become one of the hottest names on the recruiting trail for the 2019 cycle and is probably the most highly-touted signal-caller to come out of Iowa in the past decade. Boasting offers from top programs like Ohio State, Penn State and Georgia, Duggan is rated as the No. 6 dual-threat quarterback in the class and the No. 263 prospect overall.
Iowa State has long made Duggan one of its top priorities when it comes to the 2019 recruiting cycle, but Kansas quarterback Easton Dean’s commitment earlier this month certainly muddies the waters with that. With that said, the Cyclones would certainly still take a commitment from the state’s top skill position player, as our own Chris Williams detailed last week.
4 – Mosai Newsom, Defensive End, Waverly-Shell Rock
The only prospect in the top-five that does not currently hold an offer from the Cyclones, Newsom is considered the No. 35 weak-side defensive end and No. 540 player in the class. He took an unofficial visit to Ames last October and camped at Iowa State in June, but has only two Power 5 offers from Iowa and Minnesota.
5 – Darien Porter, Wide Receiver, Bettendorf
Porter’s commitment to Iowa State was part of a run that landed the Cyclones three 2019 wide receiver pledges in two days. The dynamic athlete caught 10 passes for 251 yards and four touchdowns as a junior in 2017 while adding 113 rushing yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
Iowa State became the first school to offer Porter last October and currently remains his only known offer. He has since taken several unofficial visits to Ames and was visited by Tyson Viedt during the live recruiting period in January. He also took unofficial visits to Iowa, Notre Dame and Minnesota before announcing his commitment to Iowa State.
