Iowa State’s latest commitment at the defensive line position came from a player with just three scholarship offers to his name.
Thanks to a connection through Anthony Cunningham Jr.’s high school coach, the program might have found a diamond in the rough.
“He’s a kid that’s big and strong, but also a good enough athlete that he can use his quick-twitch to make plays as well,” Belleville East HS coach Michael Harrison said. “He hasn’t even cracked the surface of his future potential – I’m excited to watch him at the next level.”
Harrison has connections with one of Iowa State’s top recruiters in Deon Broomfield – a former Cyclone player and now ISU’s safeties coach.
Both of them started out in similar spots on the collegiate coaching scenes where they regularly crossed paths.
“I’ve known Coach Broomfield for a long time – since my days back as a college coach,” Harrison said. “We’ve developed a relationship over time, so I take his word as solid as oak.”
“We were both young coaches trying to cut our teeth in the business. I coached Division II for a long time and we crossed paths while traveling for summer camps. I knew him before I became the head coach here at Belleville East – since then, he’s always recruited this area.”
After Broomfield evaluated Cunnhingham Jr. – a prospect that was playing on the varsity team at the start of his freshman year – things started to come together.
The 6-foot-4, 260-pounder impressed the staff enough to give him an offer. He committed alongside Jason Hammond Jr. after the pair visited campus in March.
“Developing that relationship over time gave me that trust in (Coach Broomfield),” Harrison said. “I know what kind of guy he is and what kind of person he is. For him to take the time to evaluate Anthony, and hear the things (the other coaches) had to say about him, I thought it would be a really good fit for him.”
Cunningham Jr. officially announced his choice the ensuing week, becoming one of the first members of the 2023 class in Ames.
“We were pretty excited,” Harrison said. “His recruiting kind of started out slow and has just kind of progressed over time. I know it was something that was obviously on his mind and I’ve been trying to help him and guide him the best I can.”
Cunningham Jr. committed to Iowa State over Arkansas State and Southeast Missouri.
The Illinois prospect also drew interest from Nebraska, Minnesota and Missouri.
“Anthony is a bright young man,” Harrison said. “I told him, ‘the number one thing that you’re going to look for is a place that you can call home and an environment that can give you the things that you need to stay successful.'”
It was ultimately one of the reasons that he committed to Iowa State ahead of his senior year of high school football.
Harrison wants him to focus on leadership as the season approaches.
“The biggest thing is for him to be a leader,” Harrison said. “We’re going to depend on him on both sides of the football, so I want him to be that rock that we can lean on.”
Cunningham Jr. has big goals, too.
Currently sitting at nine career sacks, he’s wanting to set the school’s career record when the season is all said and done.
“He has a goal of breaking our sack record,” Cunningham Jr. said. “The record is 18 or 19 and he’s at nine, I believe. He’s got some lofty goals, but he’s been climbing that chart pretty quickly.”
Harrison’s Belleville East team is scheduled to open the season on August 26, according to MaxPreps.
