Iowa offer comes sooner than expected for three-star tight end Jack Nickel
By Tyler Devine
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Three-star tight end Jack Nickel thought he might get a scholarship offer from Iowa eventually, but he didn’t expect it to happen so soon.
The 2022 Milton, Ga., native announced the offer Friday on Twitter.
“It’s really exciting because of the tradition of the tight ends at Iowa,” Nickel said. “I didn’t expect (the offer) to come now. I’ve been talking to (running backs) coach (Derrick) Foster since December, but I thought it would maybe come during my junior season.”
Nickel’s list of over 20 scholarship offers includes: Florida State, Kentucky, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oregon, Purdue and Wisconsin, among others.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Nickel said that he does not currently have any favorites, but is genuinely interested in Iowa.
Despite NCAA restrictions on in-person contact between coaches and recruits, many recruits are taking it upon themselves to visit the campuses of schools that offer them scholarships.
Nickel said that he plans to check out Iowa City next week.
Nickel’s offer comes during a time in which Iowa is embroiled in allegations of racial disparities that are currently under independent review by a Kansas City law firm.
“It was really shocking,” Nickel said. “But I think (head) coach (Kirk) Ferentz handled the situation very well.”