Personal approach helps Hawkeyes land Nelson

CEDAR RAPIDS -- Certainly, Matt Nelson is a "backyard" recruit for the Iowa Hawkeyes, with Cedar Rapids being 25 minutes for the UI campus.

This was no cinch, however. Nelson is a bright kid whose eye is on a career as an orthopedic surgeon. And Iowa was in it with some college football powers, Notre Dame and Stanford, who offer world-class educations.

In the end, the 6-7, 250-pounder said Iowa offered the right mix of everything, from football to medical school to academics.

"Everything just felt right at Iowa," Nelson said Thursday from his school, Xavier High School. "From the pre-med to the coaches to the football, it all meshed together to become the best fit for me. I'm really excited to play for them in the coming years. It just felt right and so why wait?"

Nelson, who has a 4.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale at Xavier, did his research on academic beyond what the school's provided him.

"I looked up the MCAT scores [Medical College Admission Test] and Iowa is in the top 20 in the nation," Nelson said. "I did research on premed for every program. Colleges don't tell you about certain facts about premed or academic programs in general. They'll pick certain really good stats and they'll show you that. You've got to look beyond that."

Nelson is an aggressive player. He had 11 sacks for the Saints last season, which was third in Class 4A. He also had 19 tackles for loss. Eight of his 14 receptions last season went for TDs.

"He's an intelligent kid and a driven player with physical gifts," Xavier coach Duane Schulte said. "With all of that, he can pretty much do whatever he wants on the football field."

Nelson is a good basketball player and might've been recruited for that sport, but it doesn't sate his appetite for physical play.

"I foul out a lot," Nelson said. "You can't foul out in a football game. I can sort of 'vent,' if you want to call it that, out on a football field."

Position is ultimately up to Nelson, but he'll go into Iowa as a defensive end. It's a position of need for the Hawkeyes after coming up short at the position in the 2013 recruiting class.

"I looked at it a little bit [depth charts]," said Nelson, who had 12 scholarship offers. "You have to work for a position. They [Iowa coaches] said defensive end was their first need, but if it comes down to it, they'll let me pick. But I want to get on the field as quickly as possible, so defensive end it is."

For the record, Nelson said he prefers chasing QBs over catching TD passes. "Chasing the quarterback is a lot more of a thrill," he said.

Nelson said he likes to travel and staying close to home wasn't a huge factor. But his dad, Jay, smiled from the perimeter of Thursday's news conference. The recruiting process is a family thing. Jay Nelson talked about the personal touch that Iowa assistant Reese Morgan brought to his son's recruitment.

During the junior day Nelson attended last year, Iowa knew his name and had specifics it wanted to show the family.

"Reese Morgan was great, he brought a really personal touch that was nice," Jay Nelson said. "He talked to Matt and really got to know him. He has a flip phone that doesn't have a battery and needs to be plugged in all the time. He really helped Matt get to know Iowa."

Nelson, whose mom and dad graduated from Iowa State and who has a brother currently attending ISU, visited Stanford last weekend. When he returned from Palo Alto, Calif., Iowa coaches sent a stack of cards and letters that were an inch thick that were waiting for Nelson.

In the end, Nelson picked Iowa over Notre Dame. Former Hawkeye player and coach Bob Elliott recruited Nelson for Notre Dame, where he coaches safeties.

Nelson is the ninth commitment for the Hawkeyes and the fifth from the state of Iowa. Nelson is the first defensive end in this class and probably won't be the last.

Ross Pierschbacher, OL, 6-4, 275 Cedar Falls High School ****

Jay Scheel, QB 6-2, 170 Union High School (La Porte City) ****

Lucas LeGrand, OL, 6-5, 260 Dubuque Senior High School ***

Omar Truitt, CB, 5-11, 185, St. John's College High School (Washington D.C.) ***

C.J. Hilliard, RB, 5-9, 192, St. Xavier High School (Cincinnati, Ohio) ***

Jyaz Jones, S, 6-0, 172, South Oak Cliff High School (Dallas, Texas) **

Jameer Outsey, OLB, 6-3, 220, Franklin High School (Somerset, N.J.) ***

Keegan Render, OL, 6-3, 310, Indianola High School ***

Matt Nelson, DE, 6-7, 249, Xavier High School (Cedar Rapids) ***

* - Rivals.com star rating

CR Xavier DE/TE Matt Nelson

— Matt Nelson (@m_nelson33) June 27, 2013

Highlight reel from ESPN

CR Xavier coach Duane Schulte

Matt Nelson and his dad, Jay