By Tyler Devine

IOWA CITY, Iowa – It is rare that the Iowa football team offers scholarships to high school freshmen.

2022 defensive back Toriano Pride became an exception to that on Wednesday.

In fact, Pride is believed to be just the sixth player from the 2022 class to receive an offer from Iowa, according to Rivals.com.

“It’s a huge honor to me and it’s a blessing to be honest,” Pride said.

Pride, a native of St. Louis, Mo., said he got to know Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker, who also coaches defensive backs, during a recent visit.

However, Pride thought he might have to wait a little longer for an offer.

“I got to build a relationship with (special teams) coach (LeVar) Woods and coach Parker on my visit,” Pride said. “I didn’t think they were going to offer me this early because they don’t usually offer freshmen but I can tell they were interested in my film.”

The 5-foot-9, 170-pound Pride said that an Iowa player having won the Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year award three out of the last four years is eye-opening.

“That’s a huge factor,” Pride said. “The tradition there and how all of their players are well coached really stands out to me.”

Pride also has offers from Florida State, Illinois, Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Purdue.