Kevin White
The high-fives and fist pounds came every few minutes in the Iowa Western football war room on Wednesday.
The Reivers streamed the news of their latest commitments live on Periscope, and viewers saw an upbeat staff excited to welcome their next wave of players.
Iowa Western released a list of 40 scholarship recruits, including 24 from out of state and 16 from within the borders. They hail from 12 different states, and the class likely is to be enhanced in the coming days, as a handful of highly touted three- and four-star prospects could be arriving.
"My staff does an unbelievable job of targeting all over the country,'' Iowa Western coach Scott Strohmeier said. "We identified some needs that we had. We went all over to try to find the right fit.''
One of the highly touted players is Nebraska Gatorade player of the year Milton Sargbah, a 5-foot-9, 180-pound running back out of Omaha North. He rushed for a Class A-leading 2,285 yards last season, leading the Vikings to a state championship.
Strohmeier said Sargbah was waiting for Power Five offers that never materialized.
"Milton's a talented player,'' he said. "He won a state championship, and Coach (Larry) Martin speaks highly of the kid, not the type of player he is but the type of kid he is. He's got a chip on his shoulder.''
The Reivers attracted some notable out-of-state receivers, including Jermaine Eskridge of Tampa, Florida; Marcell Barbee of Pueblo, Colorado; and Rayshawn Williams of Los Angeles. Eskridge had 50 Division I offers, including Ohio State and Alabama.
"Those three wideouts are talented, high-profile kids,'' Strohmeier said.
Iowa Western received signatures from five southwest Iowa athletes it aggressively had been pursuing, a high number for the program, the coach said. They are St. Albert receiver Tyler Blaha and linebacker Luke Waters, Tri-Center tight end Ben Sorenson, Creston offensive lineman Tucker Flynn and Stanton defensive end Dillion Rocha.
Waters is the third from his family to sign with the Reiver program, joining brothers Jake, who went on to Kansas State, and Matt, who finished at Ohio.
"It's been a goal of ours to try to get some local, southwest Iowa kids,'' Strohmeier said. "They all had options. Their upside is huge. Sometimes kids get ruled out because they play smaller-level football, but they're all tough, hard-working, competitive kids.
"That's what's made Iowa Western what it is, getting those under-recruited kids that have some ability.''
In addition to the scholarship players, more than 50 will join the program as walk-ons, hoping to prove they were overlooked.
Strohmeier said his staff is eager to turn the potential into production.
"It's a highly touted class on paper, but that doesn't mean anything,'' he said. "Now we've just got to get them here and get them going.''
IN-STATE
Player Pos. Ht. Wt. School Hometown
Tyler Blaha WR 6-2 170 St. Albert Council Bluffs
Cole Ernst OL 6-5 315 North Scott Eldridge
Tucker Flynn OL 6-9 325 Creston Creston
Austin Johnson DB 5-10 170 Southeast Polk Pleasant Hill
Tyler Maire OL 6-5 290 Ballard Huxley
Darius Moore DB 6-2 180 Clear Creek-Amana Tiffin
Jaron Onken LB 6-1 200 Norwalk Norwalk
Dillion Rocha DL 6-8 240 Stanton Stanton
John Schmidt LB 5-10 190 Dowling West Des Moines
Clarke Solo DB 5-11 185 Roosevelt Des Moines
Ben Sorenson TE 6-4 215 Tri-Center Neola
Keenan Stewart DL 6-2 265 Jefferson Cedar Rapids
Jake Thompson OL 6-4 285 Johnston Johnston
Jack Van Dusseldorp OL 6-3 305 Garner-Hayfield Garner
Blake VanVeldhuizen DL 6-2 290 Oskaloosa Oskaloosa
Luke Waters LB 6-1 215 St. Albert Council Bluffs
Out-of-State
Jarrell Anderson RB 6-0 195 East St. Louis East St. Louis, IL
Marcell Barbee WR 6-4 200 South Pueblo, CO
Kevin Brewer DB 6-0 185 Bedford Bedford, OH
Tyren Clark OL 6-7 300 Raytown South Raytown, MO
Devin Edwards WR 5-11 185 Vanguard Ocala, FL
Chris Elam OL 6-6 320 Kingwood Kingwood, TX
Willie Ervin DE 6-3 220 Ben Davis Indianapolis
Jermaine Eskridge WR 6-3 190 Thomas Jefferson Tampa, FL
Jayleen Fitzpatrick LB 6-1 210 Glenbard North Carol Stream, IL
Fitzroy Gardner DE 6-3 220 Armwood Seffner, FL
Tyrik Henderson DB 6-0 175 Glenbard North Carol Stream, IL
