 Marc MorehouseHi, I'm Marc Morehouse. I've covered sports for more than 15 years, mostly in Eastern Iowa. I've had Hayden Fry [...] |
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Nebraska DT is commit No. 5
Howell (Neb.) D-lineman Nathan Bazata committed to the Hawkeyes this weekend. Here, he's a sophomore defensive end who earned first-team all-state in Class D-2. (Journal-Star)
Nathan Bazata doesn’t come with a mile-high stack of offers. In fact, it was Iowa and South Dakota State.
Bazata is the exact player Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz talked about this spring when he talked about a renewed effort to unearth recruits who aren’t on everyone’s list. Just after spring football started, Ferentz moved Eric Johnson from tight ends to recruiting coordinator and defensive line assistant with the emphasis being “recruiting coordinator,” a title Johnson has held since 2003.
Ferentz talked about getting Johnson on the road a little more during the season.
“If you look at the guys we look at, I think that could be a real value for us,” Ferentz said. “The obvious players, the Tony Moeaki, it doesn’t take a long time to figure those guys out. If this will help get us another Karl Klug-type guy or two per class, that would really be a benefit.”
Bazata might be exactly that Karl Klug-type guy. A small-town football warrior who plugs in, buys in and comes out an NFL-caliber D-lineman five years later.
D-line coach Reese Morgan found Bazata in Howells, Neb., where Bazata has been a dominant force on the eight-man level. Last season, he had 115 tackles and nine sacks again earning first-team all-state honors. Bazata’s Howells High School team beat Giltner in the state semifinals. Giltner was led by Drew Ott, who’ll be a freshman D-end at Iowa this fall.
Bazata also has finished second at heavyweight in the state tournament the last two years, finishing his junior season with a 39-1 record. Last weekend, Bazata attended an all-Nebraska football combine in Lincoln and led all participants with 26 reps of 185 pounds on the bench press.
He bench presses 375 pounds and squats 480, and he has a 31 ½-inch vertical. Bazata also runs the 40-yard dash in 4.9 seconds. Put that on a 6-2, 270-pound frame and you have the makings of a beastly D-lineman.
Nebraska, Kansas and Kansas State also were interested. Iowa saw what it liked and jumped.
“What really sold me was when I got to sit down with three players, two d-linemen and one o-lineman, and just talk to them about things,” Bazata told HawekeyeReport.com. “They gave their honest opinion about the coaches and what happens at Iowa. That made me want to do it [commit] right away.”
Bazata, the Hawkeyes’ fifth commitment of the 2013 class, Bazata said Iowa coaches are leaning toward defensive tackle, but he also could play center for the Hawkeyes.
“I’m just going to bust my butt in the weight room and expect for anything to happen,” Bazata said.
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David Kenney, DE, 6-2, 250 Pike High School (Indianapolis, Ind.) ****
Derrick Willies, WR, 6-3, 190 Rock Island (Ill.) High School ***
Delano Hill, FS, 6-1, 190 Cass Tech High School (Detroit, Mich.) ***
Colin Goebel, OL 6-4, 275 Naperville (Ill.) North High School ***
Nathan Bazata, DL, 6-2, 270 Howells (Neb.) High School ***
* = Rivals.com’s star rating
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Threes and fours. That’s the way we build a team here. I would love to see a few blue-chip athletes come in here, but frankly, our history with them is not that good. The three that come to mind are linemen Blake Larsen and Dan Doehring and LB Kyle Williams. Doering was hurt all the time and only started a few games, mostly at guard; Larsen lost his job to Pete McMahon, a three star plugger; and Williams was a criminal, presently doing a long federal stretch on drug charges.
Honestly, I like three star guys. They come to Iowa with something to prove. Then they go out and prove it. Go Hawks.
I believe McMahon was a walk-on, not 3*.
Nebraska (and Iowa) passed on Danny Woodhead. I think this bothers Ferentz to this day and led to Canzeri’s recruitment. So Nebraska passed on this kid, before he shows up at the Lincoln combine and outperforms all the big city kids. He has the high school profile and measureables of Blythe, and absent injury, Blythe will be in the NFL. I hope we can keep his commitment intact, because Pelini can’t let too many kids cross the river; Callahan really did himself damage by dissing Nebraska scholastic football.
This might be a pleasant little “hello!” to Nebraska’s new D-line coach.
Yes, McMahon was a walk-on.
I can understand the search for the next Karl Klug, who was an absolute home run of a football player and person.
My only question would be sorting. If you can compare recruiting to fishing, you need to throw back a bunch of fish before you find the keeper. Ferentz talked yesterday of “things they look for.” Toughness and short-area quickness I think are biggies on that list, which I would so love to see. If a kid is tough, he’s that much harder to throw back.