All five of Iowa’s 2017 Texas commits ranked by Lone Star Prospects
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Texas is known as the Lone Star State, except for when it comes to football recruiting.
In that case, Texas is filled with future stars and the Iowa football coaches hope they have landed a few in the 2017 class.
The rankings suggest that they have.
Lone Star Prospects, a recruiting service that specializes in evaluating recruits from Texas, recently released its top 50 players at each position for the 2017 senior class in Texas.
Iowa has five Texas natives committed to its 2017 recruiting class and all five made the list, led by four-star running back and Wylie, Texas native Eno Benjamin, who is No. 2 at his position, second only to Ohio State commit and La Grange, Texas native J.K. Dobbins.
None of the five players from Texas who are committed to Iowa are ranked below No. 18 at their respective position.
Benjamin and Dobbins also are the two highest-ranked Big Ten commits overall.
"If you start with Eno Benjamin that was a great commit for Iowa," said Thomas Rios, who works for Lone Star Prospects. "He’s got great vision, which is hard to coach, and really a good trait to have, especially for a running back at the next level, along with his elusiveness and power. He kind of feels similar to (former Alabama running back and Heisman Trophy winner) Mark Ingram so his game should transition very well into Iowa’s offensive system.
"He has the best chance to contribute right away (out of the five commits). The type of system Iowa runs I can see Eno getting plenty of touches early. He definitely has the power and tackle-breaking ability to immediately jump in and go at the next level."
Benjamin does not put much stock into recruiting rankings, but he appreciates that all five of Iowa’s 2017 commits made the list because Texas is loaded with Division I prospects.
"I try not to pay too much attention to that," Benjamin said. "Most of that stuff is opinionated and doesn’t mean much in a game situation. You’re either making plays or you’re not.
"But I guess you could say it’s pretty nice being from Texas. It means we have some ball players who see the big picture and are ready to be apart of something great."
Cornerbacks Chevin Calloway and Matt Hankins, receiver Gavin Holmes and quarterback Peyton Mansell, are the other Iowa commits from Texas who are ranked by Lone Star Prospects.
Calloway is ranked as a four-star recruit by Rivals, while Mansell, Holmes and Hankins are all three-star prospects.
Mansell, a native of Belton, Texas, is ranked as the No. 11 quarterback by Lone Star Prospects. He is the only 2017 quarterback from Texas committed to a Big Ten school.
"He’s got a great pocket presence," Rios said. "He’s really aware of where the defense is. He avoids sacks and holds on to the ball really well. He’s got great short and mid-range accuracy when it comes to throwing the ball.
"(Kansas City Chiefs quarterback) Alex Smith is a good comparison to the kind of guy he is. He should be another good get for the Iowa system, he’s a good game manager."
Mansell credits the Iowa coaching staff for making a Texas a recruiting priority.
"It’s a real testament to the high quality of the Iowa staff and that of its commits being able to pull out such good players out of state," Mansell said.
Much like Benjamin, the rankings don’t mean much to Mansell. But the fact that he stands alone as the only 2017 Texas quarterback committed to a Big Ten school does mean a great deal to him.
"It means Iowa knows how to recruit," Mansell said, half-jokingly. "It’s just a list. I know my numbers aren’t as good as some of the other quarterbacks on the list who are throwing the ball 30 times a game.
"I know how good I am. I’m not going to let another list or ranking tell me I’m less of a quarterback than I am."
Calloway, a native of Dallas, and Hankins, a native of Flower Mound, Texas, come in at No. 4 and No. 15, respectively, at cornerback.
"(Calloway’s) coverage is very, very good and his hands are good as well for a cornerback," Rios said. "You’ve got good tackling, so coverage, hands and tackling you would say are the three biggest strengths. He’s not the biggest guy, but what he lacks in size he can make up with his coverage, hands and tackling.
"(Hankins) is similar to Calloway. He’s probably not as good as Calloway but he’s good in coverage and has good hands. Same thing goes with him, he’s not the biggest guy but his coverage and hands really do the job.
Rounding out the Iowa recruits in the rankings is Gavin Holmes, a native of Justin, Texas. He is ranked 18th at receiver by Lone Star Prospects.
Mansell thinks the 5-foot-11, 178-pound Holmes is flying under the radar, but admits that he hasn’t seen most of the players in the Lone Star rankings.
"Gavin is very underrated," Mansell said. "He’s very explosive and has very soft hands. But it’s hard for me to compare and say anyone is under or overrated due to the fact that I’ve never seen 90 percent of the guys on the lists."
Holmes isn’t big for a receiver, but he compensates by having sure hands.
"Gavin has pretty good speed and agility," Rios said. "He’s got good hands as well. Those are probably his top three strengths. His size is a little below average, but he can hold onto the ball."
There currently are 15 recruits from Texas committed to Big Ten schools in the 2017 senior class, led by Iowa and Northwestern with five apiece. Ohio State, Minnesota, Indiana, Nebraska and Wisconsin each have one.
Rios credits Iowa’s recent success on the field for getting the attention of some of the top players in Texas. Iowa is coming off a 2015 season in which it finished undefeated in the regular season at 12-0 and won the Big Ten West Division title.
"The thing we’re noticing with these offensive commits is Iowa’s had their success in recent years so they seem to be building off of that model," Rios said. "They seem to be going forward to add players that fit the system a little better.
"It’s not going to be the flashiest, it’s not going to be the most highlight reel but it will definitely fit the Iowa system very well from what we’re looking at. I can see a reason why Iowa fans are excited for what’s to come with some of these recruits."
Other Big Ten notables: Northwestern has two of the top ten defensive ends in Texas committed to its 2017 class, according to Lone Star Prospects. Three-star recruits Earnest Brown and Sam Miller are ranked fourth and seventh, respectively.