Beyer Picks Up Iowa Offer, Commits on Spot

Pat HartyFollow @PatHarty Iowa Football, iowa-hawkeyes, shaun-beyer November 25, 2015

Shaun Beyer was thankful for a lot of things on this holiday. None of them were bigger than the news he received on Wednesday.

The Cedar Rapids Kennedy Tight End visited Iowa unofficially for Wednesday’s practice, picked up a scholarship offer and committed on the spot, he told AllHawkeyes.com via text.

"It is truly a dream come true. I have wanted to be an Iowa Hawkeye my whole life. I am so excited to be a Hawkeye. I couldn’t be more happy," he said.

The Iowa Newspaper Association named Beyer the captain of its Class 4A all-state team, essentially pegging him as the top player at that level. The 6-foot-5, 210-pounder led Kennedy to the first state title game in school history, catching 41 passes for 816 yards and 10 touchdowns, rushing 51 times for 618 yards and five scores and completing 5 of 6 passes for 45 yards. Defensively, he posted 56 tackles (10.5 for loss) and seven sacks while also punting 31 times for a 43-yard average.

Nebraska offered Beyer a scholarship earlier this month. He was scheduled to unofficially visit Lincoln on Friday when the Huskers play host to Iowa. That trip has been canceled with his Hawkeye pledge.

Beyer verbally committed in August to North Dakota State, the four-time defending FCS champions. He said he felt like an Iowa offer was coming his way on Wednesday based on the conversations with assistant Reese Morgan and letters he was receiving.

"I knew I would accept on the spot if they offered," he said.

Beyer became the Hawkeyes’ 24th known commitment in the 2016 recruiting class. Recruiting Coordinator Seth Wallace has said that they would top out at 25 (it could grow depending on attrition and other factors). That he picked up one of the last rides wasn’t lost on the latest pledge.

"It meant a lot to me especially with the season they have had this year and being ranked fourth nationally. It is very cool and I am very honored," Beyer said.

Iowa (11-0) played host to Beyer at a camp in June. The coaches said they liked him but wanted to see a little more from him during his senior season. Hawkeye Head Coach Kirk Ferentz told him Wednesday that his performance left no doubt for them.

"He said they had a great feeling about me all along since their camp in June. They wanted to see how I would do throughout my senior year and he said I impressed them. He said they were ready to offer after coach Morgan came to watch me play but wanted to wait until after the season so I didn’t have any distractions," Beyer said.

As mentioned, Kennedy utilized Beyer at tight end, quarterback, linebacker and punter. His versatility intrigued the Iowa coaches.

"They said they aren’t quite sure what I am going to be. Coach Ferentz said I could come in at whatever I wanted, which would probably be tight end, and if they think they should move me they will. I’m open to whatever best helps the team," Beyer said.

Beyer said he will major in Biology.