By Bob Bakken
MaxPreps.com
Iowa’s top high school football player made his commitment to the Iowa Hawkeyes official Wednesday. Bishop Heelan Catholic running back Brandon Wegher signed with the Iowa City school, one of 14 Crusaders who signed letters of intent with various colleges following a 14-0 season and a Class 3A state championship.
Wegher committed to the Hawkeyes last August, choosing Iowa over Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin, Auburn and Arkansas. He had nine 200-yard rushing performances as a senior, including 241 yards in the 35-10 state championship victory over Decorah at the UNI-Dome.
Other Iowans who signed with the University of Iowa were Conor Boffeli (offensive line, West Des Moines), Drew Clark (offensive line, Marion), Jordan Cotton (wide receiver, Mount Pleasant), Keenan Davis (wide receiver, Cedar Rapids), Matt Murphy (offensive line, Clinton) and Brett Van Sloten (offensive line, Decorah). Linebacker Jake Reisen, who attended Iowa City Regina, signed with the program a year ago but delayed enrollment until January.
Boffeli was a team captain for the Tigers, going 43-1 in his high school career. He was a second team All-State selection as a senior and was a first team All-CIML selection as a senior.
Clark was a two-time elite All-Stater, racking up 130 tackles as a defensive lineman in addition to his stellar offensive line play.
Davis was selected to play in the Under Armour All-American game as a senior. He was a two-time elite All-State selection and was a five-time all-conference choice. Davis caught 169 passes for 2,602 yards and 26 touchdowns. He holds five conference records and was a two-time team captain.
Cotton was a first-team All-Stater as a junior and as a senior. He made 54 catches for over 660 yards and six touchdowns. Cotton also carried the ball 341 times for over 3,000 yards and 42 touchdowns.
More Signing Day News & Notes
* Sioux Central wide receiver Trevor Tiefenthaler agreed to play for South Dakota State after a prep career that saw him catch 91 passes for 1,200 yards and 17 touchdowns. Last season as a senior, Tiefenthaler moved to quarterback and threw for 900 yards and 10 touchdowns.
* Waukee senior Jake Knott signed with Iowa State, which offered him a scholarship in January and he verbally committed shortly after that. Knott was a Class 4A first team selection and has called ISU his dream school despite the recent coaching changes and the Cyclones’ less than stellar Big 12 record in recent years under former coach Gene Chizik. Knott said he wanted to play in state and also be close to his family, who recently moved to the Kansas City area.
* Central Lyon/George-Little Rock linebacker Jordan Gacke signed a letter of intent with Northern Iowa. He was the captain of the Iowa Newspaper Association’s Class 2A All-State team. He recorded 159 tackles for a team that was 12-1 on the season. Gacke had 335 tackles for a team that didn’t lose a district game in three varsity season (21-0).
* Northern Iowa signed several Iowans, including two-time All-State lineman Mark Blessington of Auburn-Southern Cal and Airreo Greer of Davenport North. Blessington helped his team go 13-1 and win a state title as a senior. Greer earned second team Mississippi Athletic Conference honors following a junior season where he received all-conference running back honors at United Township High School in Moline, Ill.
Hometown boy Darion Howard of Cedar Falls was another UNI choice. Howard did a lot for the Tigers, playing fullback, linebacker and tight end as a two-year starter. He led Cedar Falls with 24 catches for 334 yards and six touchdowns as a senior despite an injury that kept him out of part of the season.
Zach Cutkomp of West Des Moines Valley also signed with the Panthers. He was a first-team All-State and member of the Tigers’ state Class 4A championship team. Cutkomp rushed for over 3,300 yards and scored 53 touchdowns in his career.
Urbandale’s Chris Jepsen is headed to Northern Iowa following an all-state and all-conference season last year. Jepsen was the team’s most valuable player as a linebacker and team captain.
Other Iowans to sign with the Panthers were lineman Dan Kruger of West Hancock, Mac O’Brien of Waterloo Columbus, placekicker Tyler Sievertsen of Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Sam Tim of Ames, and Davenport North wide receiver-defensive back Blake White.
