Joey VanWetzinga builds bonds on official visit
Official visits are about recruits spending time together and getting to know each other. It’s also about eating some really good food.
The highlight of the meals that were eaten this weekend for 2025 commit Joey VanWetzinga was a full rack of ribs that he said almost put him into a food coma.
But, there was more than food on the agenda for the Pleasant Valley interior lineman. He was hosted by his old brother, Rusty, who is a redshirt freshman fullback on the Iowa team.
“I was hosted by my brother, but I have been committed for almost a year now and I talk to him all the time and I have been on campus a lot,” he said. “It was a great experience to be there and spend time with a bunch of my future teammates.”
For the Class of 2025 commits, it was also about working on getting a few more players to move from uncommitted to committed to the Hawkeyes.
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“I talked to some of the uncommitted guys about coming here,” he said. “I know Cameron (Herron) already committed and hopefully more will come.”
Another part of the official visit weekend is spending time with their future position coach. For VanWetzinga that’s Iowa offensive line coach George Barnett, who he has built a strong bond with already.
“I respect the heck out of Coach Barnett. He is a great coach and I love his style of play. We sat down and talk about their style of play and the playbook and it’s a little similar to ours at high school with the guards helping out the center.”
This summer, the 6-foot-2 center has spent more time on the wrestling mat and focused on adding weight. He’s now up to 270 pounds heading into his senior season with the Spartans. VanWetzinga said that in addition to center, Iowa will also give him a look at guard when he arrives on campus next summer.
