Iowa State football signs 18 recruits in early signing day

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Iowa State head football coach Matt Campbell paces on the sideline after West Virginia recovered a fumbled snap on Nov. 26 at Jack Trice Stadium. West Virginia defeated Iowa State by a final score of 49-19.

Brian Mozey

After a 7-5 season in 2017 and a chance to make it eight wins on Dec. 30 in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, coach Matt Campbell and the Iowa State Cyclones continued to build toward the future with the addition of new recruits. 

On Wednesday, high school recruits had the opportunity to partake in the early signing period and 18 recruits decided Iowa State would be their future college destination. 

Here’s a glance at each of the recruits coming to Ames, Iowa.

Trevor Downing, Offensive Lineman

The 6-foot-4, 295-pound, lineman from Creston High School in Creston, Iowa, was ranked fourth in Iowa and 31st for offensive guards in the country, according to 247Sports Composite. 

He was selected first-team all-state in three of his four years in high school.

Corey Dunn, Punter

Iowa State is looking to replace Colin Downing after this season and Campbell might have found the right replacement with the addition of 6-foot-1, 200-pound punter, Dunn.

He attended City College of San Francisco where he averaged 40.1 yards per punt with his longest being a 64-yard punt. 

Greg Eisworth, Defensive Back

Eisworth is a highly ranked recruit coming out of Texas. He’s ranked eighth overall in the state of Texas and third among junior college safeties nationally, according to 247Sports Composite. 

He played at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas, where he had 47 tackles, two interceptions and one pick-six. 

Anthony Johnson, Defensive Back

The 6-foot cornerback was a three-year starter and two-time all-state selection at St. Petersburg High School in St. Petersburg, Florida.

He has a total of 15 interceptions and 113 tackles over his three-year career, which makes him a three-star recruit, according to 247Sports Composite. He’s ranked No. 201 in the state of Florida and No. 108 nationally in the cornerback position. 

Isaiah Lee, Defensive Tackle

The Chicago native stands at 6-foot-1 and 295 pounds and is ranked 20th in the state of Illinois, according to 247Sports Composite. 

He had 65 tackles and 11 sacks in the 2017 season, which allowed him to earn a spot on the first-team all-area squad. 

Will McDonald, Defensive End

McDonald is ranked third in the state of Wisconsin and 46th nationally at the weakside defensive end position, according to 247Sports Composite. He recorded 130 tackles, 23.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries over the past two seasons earning him a spot on first-team all-state in 2017. 

Jaeveyon Morton, Defensive Back

The Detroit, Michigan, native is heading to Iowa State after posting 47 tackles and three interceptions in the 2017 season. The two-time all-state cornerback is ranked No. 24 in the state of Michigan and No. 77 nationally in the cornerback position, according to 247Sports Composite. 

Morton reportedly had 19 offers including Iowa and Cincinnati, but decided the cardinal and gold was the direction to go for his career.

Re-Al Mitchell, Quarterback

With one quarterback graduating and one quarterback transferring after the 2017 season, Campbell is looking for new talent in that particular position behind Zeb Noland. 

The dual-threat quarterback had a total of 4,180 passing yards, 38 passing touchdowns, 1,350 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns in his three years at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California. 

His biggest season came in 2016 when he recorded 2,932 passing yards and 30 passing touchdowns along with 1,058 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns. 

Brayden Narveson, Kicker

With Iowa State losing Garrett Owens after the 2017 season, Campbell needs to replace a kicker for the 2018 season. He found a replacement with Narveson who’s ranked 20th in the state of Arizona and 13th nationally in the kicker position, according to 247Sports Composite. 

He also won the Luis Zendejas Award for being the top kicker in the state of Arizona by completing 10 of his 15 field goal attempts this season and leading the state with 49 touchbacks. 

Zach Petersen, Defensive End

Petersen made his commitment to Iowa State on Monday, but made it official today. The Iowa native had 52 tackles and 10 sacks this past season making him a three-star recruit, according to 247Sports Composite. 

He’s ranked seventh in the state of Iowa and was named a Des Moines Register Elite All-State selection for 2017. 

Chandler Pulvermacher, Linebacker

He’s ranked 12th in the state of Wisconsin and recorded 57 tackles with three of them being tackles for a loss, according to 247Sports Composite. He also had three interceptions in the 2017 season. 

Joey Ramos, Offensive Lineman

Ramos made his decision last night on a local Arizona broadcast, but he’s ranked sixth in the state of Arizona and 46th nationally in the offensive tackle position, according to 247Sports Composite. 

The 6-foot-5, 305-pound lineman will be needed to replace key linemen like Jake Campos next season. He chose Iowa State over 12 offers he received during his recruitment process. 

Mike Rose, Linebacker

Rose made his decision to play at Iowa State back in October. He was verbally committed to Ball State, but decided to change his commitment to Iowa State after a visit from the Cyclones coaches. 

He is ranked 38th in the state of Ohio and 52nd nationally in the outside linebacker position, according to 247Sports Composite. 

Zach Ross, Offensive Lineman

The Iowa native from Dowling Catholic is ranked 10th in the state of Iowa and 90th nationally in the offensive guard position, according to 247Sports Composite. 

He was a member of the Des Moines Register Elite Team in 2016, while also winning a pair of state titles as a starter. 

Carson Schleker, Wide Receiver 

The Allen, Texas, native has been an effective wide receiver for the past couple of seasons as a starter. He recorded 715 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns in 2017 as his team went 15-0 and reached the Class 6A state title game. 

Sean Shaw Jr., Wide Receiver

He’s ranked 10th in the state of Oklahoma and 105th nationally in the wide receiver position, according to 247Sports Composite. He received five offers during his recruitment including teams like Kansas and SMU. 

During his four years at Jones High School, he recorded 3,276 receiving yards and 40 receiving touchdowns. 

Dallas Taylor-Cortez, Defensive Back

The California native is ranked 101st in the state of California and 87th nationally in the cornerback position, according to 247Sports Composite. He recorded 33 tackles and three interceptions in the 2017 season. 

Gerry Vaughn, Linebacker 

The Georgia native was a three-time starter for Tucker High School and chose Iowa State over his 14 other offers during his recruitment process. He was a two-time all-region selection and led his team to the state semifinals the last two seasons.