Northeast Iowa Prep Athletes Sign National Letters

A group of 14 high school student-athletes from Northeast Iowa plan to play college football beginning this fall and two others plan to participate in track and field. Each of the 16 area seniors signed national letters of intent on Wednesday, February 5, 2014.

Three of them will play at Upper Iowa. North Fayette Valley defensive lineman Dalton Lape, Clayton Ridge linebacker Dylan Preston and Nashua-Plainfield wide-receiver Hunter Mueller are among the 34 players from seven states who committed to the Peacocks. In all, Upper Iowa signed 13 players from the state of Iowa.

UNI signed 24 players and also added three transfers to their roster. The 12 in-state recruits include Waukon running back Marcus Weymiller, Cedar Falls punter Michael Kuntz, Waterloo West star Blake Thomas and Cedar Falls linebacker Jared Farley. At UNI, Farley will play for his father, Mark, and alongside his brother, Jake.

Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz got commitments from 18 players and expects a 19th to sign today. Among the five in-state recruits are Waukon quarterback Parker Hesse and La Porte City Union signal-caller Jay Scheel. Hesse is expected to play linebacker for the Hawkeyes, while Scheel will likely be a wide-receiver.

Iowa State inked 25 players, but only one is from Iowa. Urbandale wide-receiver Allen Lazard is considered one of the best athletes in the state. Rivals.com rates Lazard a top-50 overall national recruit.

Cedar Falls offensive lineman Ross Pierschbacher also highlights the 2014 recruiting class. The Parade All-American and three-time all-state selection signed to play at Alabama after initially committing to Iowa.

The rest of the Northeast iowa recruits include Alex Gary of Cedar Falls, who signed with Wartburg; Waverly-Shell Rock’s Josh Wright, who commited to St. Cloud State; and Waterloo West teammates Alex Young and Lance Dunn, Junior. Young will play at national junior college powerhouse Iowa Western and Dunn is going to three-time defending FCS National Champion North Dakota State.

The two track and field recruits are classmates at Waverly-Shell Rock. Abby Caldwell plans to compete at Iowa State and Thomas Bates is going to St. Cloud State.