Trey Verdon’s older brother, Malik, is already a household name in Ames, and the Ohio prospect got to see it firsthand during his visit over the weekend to the football game against Kansas.
When he was officially offered the scholarship to potentially join his brother in his collegiate career, he got excited.
“I was ecstatic,” Verdon said. “To just have the chance, potentially, to have the opportunity to play with my brother one last time. It’s just great. It’s a great school, they have a great education, and Ames is just a great city in general, so I was excited to hear (when I got offered).”
The three-star prospect out of Hamilton, Ohio had four offers already in Pittsburgh, Miami-Ohio, Toledo and Massachusetts.
He’s plenty familiar with Iowa State, however, because of his brother.
“They’re like family to him,” Verdon said. “From what I’ve seen, when he walks around, people and fans just walk around saying, ‘oh hey, Malik.’ Literally, everyone says hi to him. He says he loves it and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
Verdon’s visit was relatively normal, but he’s not in Ames each and every week to see his brother play – living so far away.
“It was good,” Verdon said. “I felt welcomed when I went. It was nice to see my brother again – I’ve never actually been down here before with him playing on the team and all.”
One thing that stood out to the 6-foot-2 defensive end/linebacker? The Juicy Wiggle.
“It was amazing,” Verdon said. “My mom had told me beforehand that the crowd was crazy, and I had believed her, but I didn’t know it was like that. Like, the Juicy Wiggle came on and – I didn’t know so many grown people could get turnt like that.”
“We were like the only people in the recruit section that was standing up and doing it, it was funny,” Verdon said.
Iowa State and Verdon are still relatively early in their relationship as of now, and the pair have not yet discussed where Trey might fit into the defense.
That conversation will wait for another day, but for now, Verdon is thankful to have a chance to play with his brother once again.
