College coaches lean on their networks and scour film in February. It’s time well spent during a dead month for recruiting.

Iowa defensive line coach Kelvin Bell was doing just that earlier this week when he happened upon Springboro (OH) High defensive lineman Carter Napier. The Hawkeye assistant called the junior with a scholarship offer on Wednesday.

“(Bell) said that I popped on my film,” Napier said. “He discovered me the day before the offer, so it was pretty sudden.”

Iowa became Napier’s second Power 4 opportunity among his 11 overall offers. The other one just arrived on Feb. 26 from Pittsburgh, where he’s scheduled to officially visit at the end of May.

The Hawkeyes jumping into the recruitment changed his outlook.

“Being the impressive school they are, they have moved toward the top of my list, for sure,” he said. “I would like to take a look at the facilities and connect with the coaches more. I will be there on April 18th.”

Napier is on a crash course getting to know Iowa after first hearing from them this week.

“I am still learning more about Iowa. They are a prestigious Big Ten program with a great college town,” he said.

Iowa has company among Power 4 programs increasing their interest in Napier. He has a trip scheduled to Wisconsin on March 21 after visiting Northwestern for a game in the fall.

“Due to the recent trajectory of my recruiting, my timeline has kind of altered. I am building a bunch of connections right now, and it has been an exciting journey,” he said.

“My top two factors (when choosing a school and football program) are education and culture. A good degree and a hardworking, player-led team is what I am looking for. Overall, I’m looking for the best fit for me, and where I feel most at home.”

Napier is considering multiple fields of study.

“I am mostly undecided. I am looking into either a Business or an Engineering path,” he said.

Napier reported playing in 11 games this past season, when he collected 53.0 tackles (5 TFL), 4.0 sacks and a fumble recovery. He was named first-team all-conference and second-team All-Southwest Ohio.