Feb. 3, 2010
- Order the Official 2009 highlights video presented by HyVee
- 2010 FedEx Orange Bowl Central
- Take the Hawkeyes With You: Iowa Podcasts
- Download your Iowa Hawkeye iPhone app!
- gohawks.com
- Iowa Football wallpaper
Editor’s Note: Posted to hawkeyesports.com at 3:20 p.m. Iowa time.<>
IOWA CITY, Iowa — It’s National Signing Day and Kirk Ferentz, the Big Ten Conference’s coach of the year in 2009, is just now sitting down for his visit with local, regional and national media where he’ll discuss the 21 newest members of the University of Iowa football program.
Here’s a short list of facts – and fun facts – on the year’s recruiting class…
- 19 of the 21 are high school seniors. Two – defensive lineman Louis Trinca-Pasat and quarterback A.J. Derby – have already received their high school diploma and are currently enrolled in classes at the UI.
- 13 of the newcomers are listed as additions to Iowa’s defense, seven will begin their Hawkeye career as offensive players, and one – 6-foot-7, 228-pound Austin Vier of Huxley, Iowa – is listed as an “Athlete.”
- Iowa’s defensive line will have the largest infusion of new talent as five of the to-be-freshmen have the designation, “DL,” under the header, “Position.” There are also four defensive backs and four linebackers on the roster.
- The list includes one quarterback – Derby; one tight end – C.J. Fiedorowicz; and one wide receiver – Kevonte Martin-Manley.
- Martin-Manley is the only newcomer with a hyphen in his name.
- Anthony Ferguson, Jr., a 6-foot-3, 280-pound defensive lineman is the addition who is a “Jr.”
- De’Andre Johnson, a 5-foot-8, 210-pound running back, tops the list in two categories: The only addition to the Hawkeye football family with an apostrophe in his name and the shortest newcomer.
- As a state, Iowa contributed the largest number of student-athletes to the list of newcomers, five. Maryland, Michigan and Ohio were next best with three each.
- 6-foot-5, offensive lineman Brandon Scherff of Denison, Iowa is the recruit sporting the most bulk, weighing in at 310 pounds.
- Three newcomers – offensive lineman Andrew Donnal, Fiedorowicz, and Vier share the honor of being the tallest recruit, coming in at 6-foot, 7-inches tall.
- Derby is the only “legacy” in the group. He is the son of Kelly and John Derby, and John played linebacker for the Hawkeyes in the 1990s.
- At least 19 of the 21 recruits earned letters for participation in sports other than football during their high school career.
- The two newcomers with the last name “Johnson” – De’Andre and 6-foot-3, 265 defensive lineman Donavan Johnson – are covering the greatest distance to play football for the UI: De’Andre is from Miami, Fla., and will travel 1,477.64 miles to get to Iowa City. Donavan is from Arlington, Texas. His odometer count is 868.21 miles. When the Johnson’s arrive, they’ll be greeted by Derby, 6-foot-2, 215 linebacker James Morris, and 6-foot-2, 195 defensive back Tanner Miller. They grew up a stone’s throw from historic Kinnick Stadium and the UI campus in Iowa City, Solon and Kalona, respectively.
Click HERE for the official list with links to their biographies and video highlights.