Iowa State football signs 21 along with 11 walk-ons to complete the class of 2018

Alec Giljohann/Iowa State Daily
Iowa State head football coach Matt Campbell addresses fans outside of Jack Trice Stadium in preparation for the Spring football game on April 8, 2017.

Brian Mozey
February 7, 2018

Iowa State football came into today with 18 recruits already having their national letters of intent signed, but the Cyclones still had three more spots left to fill. They filled them pretty quick and by noon the 2018 class was finalized.

Along with the 21 signed players, coach Matt Campbell and his staff had 11 other players become walk-ons for the start of the 2018 season.

Campbell said the staff did a great job with working together and filling in the spots that were needed to build the roster back up from the seniors that graduated last season. 

Now, there’s validity with the Liberty Bowl win along with the vision to grow these players into their maximum potential by the end of their three or four years at Iowa State. 

“I appreciate what it means to a young man for what it means to earn a Division I scholarship,” Campbell said. “What he does with that opportunity is what’s really powerful.”

Quarterback

Campbell needed a handful of quarterbacks with only Zeb Noland and Devon Moore returning to the 2018 roster. He was able to sign a couple quarterbacks who could make an immediate impact with Re-Al Mitchell and Brock Purdy.

Mitchell is a dual-threat quarterback. He can find the open receivers, but he can also use his legs to find open lanes and reach first downs. His biggest season came in 2016 when he threw for 2,932 passing yards along with 30 passing touchdowns. On the ground, he had 1,058 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns.

Purdy, the Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year, is the 36th ranked pro-style quarterback in the class, according to 247Sports Composite. He threw for 4,405 yards and 57 touchdowns as well as ran for 1,017 yards and nine touchdowns.

Shane Starcevich decided to walk-on for Iowa State and threw for 1,824 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, while running for 602 yards and 10 touchdowns.

“[Re-al] is killing it in the classroom, he’s killing in the weight room…we’re delighted to have him,” said quarterback coach Jim Hofher. “Both of these quarterbacks were on championship teams…and lead them to state championships.”

Wide Receiver/Tight End

After the loss of Allen Lazard, Marchie Murdock and Trever Ryen, Campbell needed to find some replacements in the wide receiver category. The Cyclones are still bringing back receivers like Hakeem Butler, Matthew Eaton Jr. and Deshaunte Jones, but a new round of players is always good for the future.

Iowa State signed four recruits with Sean Shaw Jr., Carson Schleker, Joseph Scates and Tayvonn Kyle. The Cyclones also had Beau Coberley, Zach Shipman and Morgan Bartman added as walk-ons for next season.

Shaw Jr. is the tallest receiver from the class standing at 6-foot-6-inch and caught 40 touchdown passes during his four years in high school along with over 3,000 receiving yards. Schleker may be 5-foot-9-inch, but he caught nine touchdowns for 715 yards his senior year.

Kyle was a returner as well as a wide receiver last season recording 766 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns on 42 receptions. Scates had a strong senior season with 966 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns on only 37 receptions.

The three Iowa native players could make an impact on the Cyclones. Coberley finished his season at West Marshall High School with 584 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns and was an all-state pick twice in Iowa. Shipman had 333 yards and three touchdowns last season at Lewis Central High School. Bartman was a two-time all-conference selection after catching only six passes last season. 

Campbell already has 14 wide receivers on the roster, so it’ll be a competitive offseason for these four recruits to earn playing time and the ability to get onto the field in their first seasons.

“I’ve known [Joseph] since he was a freshman in high school… and he was always a guy I constantly checked on,” said wide receivers coach Bryan Gasser. “[Sean’s] size jumps off the table right away. He’s a six-six kid and all of it.”

Offensive Linemen

Campbell and his staff had a productive recruiting process for the offensive linemen position. He signed three players who are ranked in the top 100 for offensive linemen, according to 247Sports Composite rankings.

Those three consist of Zach Ross (90th), Trevor Downing (18th) and Joey Ramos (46th). Along with these three, Matt Seres, a four-year starter at Hudson High School in Hudson, Iowa, decided to become a walk-on for Iowa State.

Downing, a Creston, Iowa native, helped pave a running lane for the last three seasons where they recorded 1,000 rushing yards each season including a 2,000-yard season in 2015. Ramos was a three-time all-state selection and was ranked sixth in the state of Arizona.

After helping with a 1,000-yard season from his running back in his junior year, Ross tore his ACL during his senior season. He was out all season but should be ready for the 2018 season. Seres was first-team all-state in Class A during his senior year.

“[Trevor’s] nickname at home is Farm Strong and that’s the way he plays,” said offensive coordinator Tom Manning. “I think [Joey] is a guy that has a tremendous amount of potential.”

Linebackers

After the departure of Joel Lanning, Campbell is looking to Marcel Spears Jr. for leadership in the linebacker position. That leadership needs to be shown to the six new recruits who signed their national letter of intent to play at the linebacker position.

Chandler Pulvermacher, Mike Rose and Gerry Vaughn are the out-of-state linebackers who posted 137 tackles altogether during their senior seasons. Rose, from Ohio, and Pulvermacher, from Wisconsin, recorded 53 and 57 tackles, respectively.

Kendrick Harris, Kendall Jackson and Jared Rus are in-state linebackers who combined for 137.5 tackles last season with Jackson recording 75 tackles and one sack at Theodore Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, Iowa. All three are walk-ons for Iowa State.

Campbell has 13 linebackers on the roster, so it’ll be a competitive summer and fall for these six linebackers to find time on the defensive end in 2018.

“[Chandler] is a versatlie guy. He can play a lot of positions,” said linebackers coach Tyson Veidt. “[Mike] plays hard from start to finish.”

Defensive Linemen

The defensive line for Iowa State lost two key players in J.D. Waggoner and Vernell Trent, but Campbell was able to sign three new recruits (Isaiah Lee, Will McDonald and Zach Petersen) as well as a walk-on (Mason Skovgard).

Lee recorded 65 tackles and 11 sacks last season, while McDonald had 130 tackles and 23.5 sacks over the past two seasons.

Petersen is from Long Grove, Iowa, and finished his senior year with 52 tackles and 10 sacks as he was named Des Moines Register Elite All-State selection. Skovgard may be a walk-on but put up some stats his senior year with 71 tackles and seven sacks.

“[Lee] is a guy that’s big, physical and strong. He’s a combination of Ray Lima and Jamahl Johnson,” said defensive line coach Eli Rasheed. “[McDonald] is a freak athlete.” 

Defensive Back

Campbell and the coaching staff had to say goodbye to many seniors last season in the defensive back position. With Kamari Cotton-Moya, Evrett Edwards and Reggie Wilkerson graduating, there will be a new funnel of talent coming into the position.

The Cyclones got started by signing four recruits for the 2018 class along with one other walk-on. Those four consist of Greg Eisworth, Anthony Johnson, Jaeveyon Morton and Dallas Taylor-Cortez. There’s also Miles Rupiper, who will be a walk-on for Iowa State.

At Trinity Valley Community College, Eisworth recorded 47 tackles and two interceptions, while Johnson finished with 36 tackles and four interceptions at St. Petersburg High School.

Morton was named to MLive Detroit Dream Team after a 48-tackle and three-interception season. Taylor-Cortez finished his high school career with 37 tackles and three interceptions.

Rupiper is coming in as a walk-on after being featured as a running back at Kuemper Catholic High School in Carroll, Iowa.

“[Morton] reminds me a lot of Brian Peavy,” said cornerbacks coach D.K. McDonald.  

Special Teams

Campbell said he doesn’t usually offer scholarships to kickers and punters, but both Corey Dunn and Brayden Narveson are coming to Ames on scholarship. After losing Garrett Owens and Colin Downing to graduation, these two will need to step up quickly and efficiently.

Dunn averaged 40.1 yards on 33 punts last season at City College of San Francisco. Narveson went 10-for-15 on field goal attempts last season, while connecting on 40 of 43 extra points with his longest kick going 58 yards.

This class is already making an impact on the team as five of the players are already enrolled into Iowa State and attending classes this spring. Campbell said he enjoys having them here because it allows them to make mistakes early and correct them, so they’re ready for fall camp.

As of this afternoon, Iowa State was ranked 51st as a team for recruiting, according to 247Sports. The Cyclones are behind the Colorado Buffaloes and above the Illinois Fighting Illini.

Now, Campbell and the coaching staff will have the opportunity to build these players into leaders for the next three or four seasons to reach Iowa State’s goal of winning a Big 12 Championship and National Championship.

“Great things are coming,” Campbell said. “This journey is just beginning.”