Big D-lineman to visit Iowa this weekend
While Iowa fans try to keep the faith heading into Saturday’s game against Michigan, the Iowa football coaches are trying to get Faith to join the program.
The uniquely named Faith Ekakitie, a 6-foot-2, 285-pound high school defensive lineman, will visit Iowa this weekend. He will arrive Friday and then attend Saturday’s game against Michigan at Kinnick Stadium.
Ekakitie also visited Boston College on Wednesday and Thursday.
He attends Lake Forest Academy in Lake Forest, Ill., and is considered one of the top defensive line recruits in the country.
And with defensive line being a position of need for Iowa as evidenced by what’s happened on the field this season, landing Ekakitie would be a major coup for the Iowa coaches.
“(The Iowa coaches) have done a great job recruiting him and letting him know the positives about their university and the football program,” said Ted Stewart, football coach at Lake Forest Academy. “They’re just first-class guys.”
Ekakitie has trimmed his list to seven schools and a decision could happen within the next month, according to Stewart.
“He’s going to take these visits here for the next two weeks and then after that he’s going to look to see to make a decision, hopefully, the first week in December or the second week in December,” Stewart said.
In addition to Iowa and Boston College, Ekakitie also is considering Wisconsin, Northwestern, Illinois, Georgia Tech and Oregon.
He already has visited Iowa City in an unofficial capacity and spoke highly of the experience on a blog that he has written throughout his senior season.
Ekakitie decided to write a blog in order to eliminate some of the distractions that come with the recruiting process, including being interviewed on a regular basis.
Stewart often speaks on Ekakitie’s behalf.
“He’s kept me busy,” Stewart said.
Ekakitie’s path to becoming to a major college football recruit actually began in a different country and with him playing a different sport.
He grew up in Canada and his favorite sport was basketball.
Stewart, who also works in the admissions office at Lake Forest Academy, was attending a basketball tournament in Canada when he first saw Ekakitie playing the sport.
“He’s actually a really good basketball player,” Stewart said. “And the kid stepped on the floor, and at the time he was probably 6-2 and 250 pounds and he had the biggest calves I’ve ever seen out of a high school player.
“And in the first two minutes of the game, he went down and dunked it. So I thought he’d probably be a pretty good football player.”
Ekakitie transferred to Lake Forest Academy before his sophomore year. He went out for football, partly so he could keep playing basketball.
“At our school, kids have to play more than one sport, so he gave football a shot and it worked out well,” Stewart said.
Stewart said Ekakitie was an A-and-B student went he arrived from Canada and nothing has changed.
“He’s a great student,” Stewart said. “He has to be to be here.”
Stewart said Ekakitie still is learning how to play football, but his talent makes up for his inexperience.
“He’s raw, he’s only been playing football for three years,” Stewart said. “But he’s a big explosive kid. He’s got great feet, and he’s going to be a very good college football player.”
Many scouting services list Ekakitie as a defensive end, but Stewart thinks he eventually will grow into a defensive tackle in college.
Iowa already has received a verbal commitment from one of the top defensive linemen in Illinois with Lombard native Jaleel Johnson committing to the Hawkeyes in July.
Johnson and Ekakitie are ranked among the top three recruits in Illinois by most scouting services.
ANOTHER VISITOR: Offensive lineman Aaron Curry told Hawkeye Report.com that he will take an official visit to Iowa this weekend.
The 6-3, 275-pound Curry, who is from Keller, Texas, received a scholarship offer from Iowa this past summer, according to HawkeyeReport.com.
Curry already has visited Boise State and has scheduled visits to Mississippi for Nov. 12 and Missouri for Dec. 9.
He is allowed to take five official visits under NCAA rules, but only has four scheduled at this point.
“We’re still looking at some other (schools) for that last one, too,” Curry told HawkeyeReport.com.
Curry is ranked as a three-star prospect by Rivals.com, with five being the highest ranking.
AND STILL ANOTHER: According to Scout.com, Iowa has offered a scholarship to high school junior defensive end David Kenney, who attends Pike High School in Indianapolis.
It is believed to be Kenney’s first offer from a BCS school.
Kenney is expected to be in Iowa City this weekend for an unofficial visit.
Category: Iowa Hawkeyes Football
