Iowa Hawkeyes make move with top targets after big win

Iowa City was hoping Saturday, especially after No. 3 Iowa’s 23-20 comeback victory over No. 4 Penn State. In the stands were many of the Midwest’s top 2023 prospects and key 2022 targets like four-star safety Xavier Nwankpa of Altoona (Iowa) Southeast Polk.

All indications are the Hawkeyes made some major headway with the players on visits and have positioned themselves as front-runners for more than a handful of the best players that were there.

After this weekend’s official visit, a source close to Nwankpa’s recruitment told On3 that Iowa “clearly is the team to beat” with the nation’s No. 62 player.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Nwankpa recently narrowed his list of schools down to Iowa, Notre Dame and Ohio State. Both Notre Dame and Ohio State have made strong pitches. But Iowa picked up momentum with him and the atmosphere inside of Kinnick Stadium Saturday was magnetic.

Nwankpa has spoken highly of the Hawkeyes in the past, so it makes sense he’s trending that direction.

“Iowa has a top-notch defense with some of the most respected coaches and players that I went to high school with and played against,” Nwankpa said. “It is a local school that is really starting to do something. Defensively, Coach (Phil) Parker and his scheme is one of the best in college football. He develops not even highly-ranked defensive backs into NFL talents.”

It’s still unclear how the game impacted 2023 four-star OT Kadyn Proctor, another coveted prospect from Southeast Polk. But make no mistake, Proctor tops the wish list for the Hawkeyes in 2023. There’s genuine interest on his part, too. He’s visited Iowa six times already throughout the recruiting process.

2023 top Iowa targets wowed

While we’re still waiting to see how things went with Proctor, other top 2023 targets were impressed.

OL Charles Jagusah, the nation’s No. 34 junior, said it was a “special day.” The four-star junior from Rock Island (Ill.) Alleman said he was “honored” he was invited to be there in the stands watching. Iowa seems like it’ll definitely be a team that sticks around throughout his recruitment.

The same is true with consensus four-star OL Cayden Green of Lee’s Summit (Mo.) North. Green gushed when asked about his time in Iowa City. He called the atmosphere inside of Kinnick insane, but “insane in a good way.”

“It was such a crazy and insane atmosphere,” Green said. “I thought it was really cool how the crowd impacted the game and how the team fed off the energy. The fans were just as energized at the end of the game as they were at the opening kickoff.”

Iowa City before and after pic.twitter.com/7m8ItZQYPS

— Cayden Green (@CaydenGreen3) October 10, 2021

Consensus four-star junior receiver Kyle Kasper of Gilbert (Ariz.) Williams Field also raved about his visit.

“It was an incredible day,” said Kasper, who played 7-on-7 with Nwankpa this past summer. “I had an amazing time celebrating with the team and hanging out with other recruits.”

Kasper’s father, Kevin, played at Iowa and many expect the four-star to pick the Hawkeyes over a cast of national-level offers, including Notre Dame, USC, Oregon, UCLA, Nebraska and Tennessee.