Illinois DB Camron Harrell commits to Iowa
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Iowa football coaches spent Saturday telling defensive back Camron Harrell how much they liked his potential.
Harrell then showed how much he likes the Iowa coaches, and the Iowa program as a whole, by committing to the Hawkeyes on Sunday. His commitment came less than 24 hours after Harrell was offered a scholarship by the defending Big Ten West Division champions.
"The feeling is unreal," said Harrell, a native of Bradley, Ill. "I just knew there was nowhere else I wanted to be. Iowa has always been one of my favorite schools. They told me they like the way I play on film. Then they said they like the way I play on their field better.
"They believe I’ll make a great addition to the Hawkeye family."
Harrell was still beaming about the offer at work later in the day.
"I was at work today just repeating to myself, ‘I’m a Hawkeye.’"
Harrell hasn’t attracted a lot of attention from power five schools, but veteran recruiting analyst Tom Lemming said an offer from Iowa is a testimony to Harrell’s potential.
"The key is nobody does a better job of evaluating and then developing ball players than Iowa," Lemming said. "They don’t have to worry about guys that have never been offered because they know what they’re doing. It just means that no one else really got to the kid or saw him.
"But more power to them."
Lemming plans to give Harrell a higher ranking based solely on the scholarship offer from Iowa.
"He was a name, even in my book I had him down as another name to watch," Lemming said of his annual recruiting publication that includes hundreds of high school recruiting profiles. "I’m going to have to raise it up a little bit more because if Iowa likes him, I’ll give him three stars."
With the addition of Harrell, Iowa now has 11 players committed to its 2017 recruiting class. Harrell was among a number of recruits who attended Iowa’s tailgater event on Saturday.
The Hawkeyes could add another recruit on Monday with California receiver Maurice Bell set to announce his choice between Iowa, Colorado and Washington State.
Hype to say I am committing to the university of Iowa! #hawkeye ???????? pic.twitter.com/2EdqUjnYKL
— Cam (@camronharrel) June 26, 2016
Harrell had previously told AllHawkeyes.com on Saturday that he had not yet set a timetable for making his college decision.
Something must have clicked during Harrell’s visit to campus.
Iowa was Harrell’s first and only scholarship offer to date, but he had also gained interest from North Dakota State and Central Michigan.
"Iowa was recruiting me the hardest," Harrell said.