Iowa coaches aren’t guided by stars. They let their eyes lead the way.

That’s not to say the Hawkeyes have no interest in highly-ranked recruits. They do if the highlight film shows them the same thing that the analysts like.

The Iowa staff always has dug deep for prospects, from eight-man football to small schools to lightly-prospected states. It may have uncovered another diamond in the rough out of Michigan.

Class of 2017 defensive back/wide receiver Jamal Allen visited Iowa City on Saturday. The 6-foot, 185-pounder from Livonia Churchill High said the Hawkeyes were the only ones showing him interest.

"I received an invitation in the mail asking me to come out to any of their home games," he said.

Allen was pleased after making the 14-hour round-trip to the Big Ten school.

"It was amazing. I was very impressed by what I saw. The facilities were extremely nice. The weight room caught my attention the most," he said.

Allen reported running the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds. During Saturday’s pre-game warm-ups, he met with Iowa Assistants Phil Parker, Seth Wallace and Kelvin Bell.

"They said that they were glad and excited for me to come out. They continued to say that they hope I enjoyed my visit to Iowa and Kinnick Stadium throughout the visit," Allen said.

While he didn’t leave town with a scholarship offer, Allen exited feeling good about where he stood with the Hawkeyes.

"They told me to just keep playing hard and doing what I do best on the field and they’ll keep up with me," he said.

Allen said that the coaches didn’t indicate what position they see him playing in college.

Allen was clocked running the 200 in 49.92 during April track season per athletic.net.