Iowa offers scholarships to three teammates from Indianapolis
By Tyler Devine
Allhawkeyes.com
IOWA CITY, Iowa – It was a busy week for the Iowa football coaches at Cathedral Prep High School in Indianapolis.
Iowa offered scholarships on Monday to three-star safety Ben Stewart, four-star linebacker Pete Werner and sophomore running back Markese Stepp, all of whom are teammates at Cathedral Prep.
Stewart told allhawkeyes.com that Iowa is one of his top three schools. Iowa and Boston College are the only power five schools to have offered the 5-foot-10, 198-pound junior a scholarship at this point. Stewart also has offers from multiple schools in the Mid-American Conference.
“I would say Western Michigan, Iowa and Boston College (are my favorites) in no particular order,” Stewart said.
Stewart said he plans to attend Iowa’s junior day event on March 6.
As for the 6-3, 210-pound Werner, he reportedly has over 20 scholarship offers. Werner hasn’t said whether he plans to visit Iowa. He currently has other schools that he favors.
Iowa has received verbal commitments from five players in the 2017 class, including five-star defensive end A.J. Epenesa from Edwardsville, Ill. The other four players in the class are all from Iowa: North Fayette defensive tackle Juan Harris, Madrid defensive end Coy Kirkpatrick, Mount Vernon offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs and Solon tight end/linebacker Jacob Coons.
Iowa is expected to have fewer than 20 players in its 2017 recruiting class.
The 6-0, 205 Stepp is part of the 2018 class. He rushed for over 1,300 yards as a sophomore this past season. He reportedly also has scholarship offers from Purdue, Illinois, Cincinnati and Indiana.