Iowa football expanding its search for receivers
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Faced with having to restock the receiver position, the Iowa football coaches have expanded their search for replacements.
Iowa has offered scholarships to at least one 2017 receiver from California, Mississippi, Florida and Texas.
It’s not unusual for the Iowa coaches to recruit in Florida and Texas under veteran head coach Kirk Ferentz. But rarely have they offered scholarships to players from California or Mississippi regardless of position.
Mississippi native Brandon Smith announced on Twitter on Friday that he had received a scholarship offer from Iowa, while California receiver Maurice Bell also has an offer from the Hawkeyes.
"It feels great to receive an offer from Iowa," Smith said Friday night. "I wasn’t really expecting it. Iowa is on the top of my list."
The decision to recruit in Mississippi partly could be due to the fact Mississippi native Kelvin Bell is Iowa’s new recruiting coordinator.
A native of Olive Branch, Miss., Kelvin Bell first joined the Iowa program as a defensive tackle in 2000. His career was cut short by injuries, but he stayed at Iowa and earned his degree.
"I haven’t talked to any of the coaches, but coach Bell has met with my wide receiver coach and he says he loves the way I play and how I look and he really likes my grades and he thinks I can be a real asset to the program," Smith said of Bell.
Ranked as a three-star recruit by most scouting services, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Smith said he plans to attend camps at Alabama, Florida State, Mississippi State and Ole Miss this summer.
In addition to Iowa, Smith also has scholarship offers from Arkansas State, Central Arkansas, Louisiana-Monroe and Middle Tennessee State.
As for Maurice Bell, who is no relation to Kelvin Bell, he recently trimmed his list to five schools, including Iowa. But Bell has since changed his mind and doesn’t have a top-five list anymore, although, Iowa still is considered one of his top schools.
Bell, who is from Murrieta Valley, Calif., took an unofficial visit to Iowa City in April.
Adding at least one or two receivers to the 2017 class is a priority for the Iowa coaches because of the heavy turnover at that position. Tevaun Smith and Jacob Hillyer both used up their eligibility last season, while Matt VandeBerg and Riley McCarron will be senior receivers this fall.
Iowa currently has 10 players committed to its 2017 recruiting class, but none of them are receivers.
Tyler Devine contributed to this report