LB recruit says Iowa pulled offer; Hawks after JUCO RB
Earlier this week, junior college linebacker Robert Caldwell appeared on the verge of joining the Iowa football team’s 2012 recruiting class.
However, that’s no longer the case.
“They pulled my offer,” Caldwell said of the Iowa coaches Friday afternoon without giving an explanation.
North Carolina State now is Caldwell’s top school, and he was traveling Friday afternoon to the campus in Raleigh, N.C., to take a recruiting visit.
The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Caldwell played his freshman and sophomore seasons at the College of the Desert in Palm Desert, Calif. He and his junior college teammate Jake Sheffield had Iowa high on their lists, but now it appears neither one will be a Hawkeye.
Sheffield, who plays on the defensive line, signed with Arizona State and is enrolled there for the spring semester.
College of the Desert assistant coach Demond Littles said earlier this week that Caldwell was only visiting North Carolina State to honor a commitment and that Iowa was the frontrunner to land Caldwell.
That’s now changed with Caldwell saying his offer from Iowa has been pulled.
Meanwhile, the Iowa coaches now are pursuing another junior college prospect from California with running back Aaron Harris now planning to visit Iowa City next weekend after he visits Cincinnati this weekend.
The 6-foot, 200-pound Harris attends Southwestern College in California and is the first player from his school to have 2,000 career rushing yards.
“He’s very explosive,” Southwestern coach Ed Carberry said of Harris Friday afternoon. “He’s a home run hitter.”
Iowa already has two junior-college players in the 2012 recruiting class. Quarterback Cody Sokol and offensive lineman Eric Simmons both have signed letters of intent and are enrolled at Iowa for the spring semester.
Category: Iowa Hawkeyes Football
I dont get it…. we NEED players in this class and we NEED to restock the defensive side of the ball so WHY would we pull the offer??? This guy AND his team mate sounded like they would fit in great with Iowa… I am surprised sometimes with our recruiting… things that make you go hmmmmmmmmm ???
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there are better players still in hs that we are leading for and his teammate has a family in california that he didnt want to move away from.. still going hmmm?
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he is moving much further to NC..than Iowa so that had nothing to do with it…seems to me once Jaleel re-committed to Iowa then that offer was yanked quickly. ?? Looks pretty obvious to me…BUT hey I am not in the coaches corner so its a best guess just like everyone else thats on here.
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Something that makes me go hmmmmmm – your inability to consider the possibility that the Iowa coaches made this decision based on actual first-hand information from meeting this recruit, watching his game films, talking to his coaches, etc. I suppose you think the Iowa football team would be better if they made recruiting decisions on the stuff that you’ve heard.
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Or your inability to know the INSIDE story..as I dont know it..BUT when ya read a story like we all have done we base our comments on that….And from that vantage point it dont make sense to pull the offer..however it looks like the offer was pulled because Jaleel re-committed to Iowa…thats seems pretty obvious to me. Or maybe you dont have the ability to figure that out??
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I totally agree – ***? Looks like there was 2(!) solid defensive players ready to step in and get busy. And now neither are coming?? And yeh, it’s not like we couldn’t use some ready-made help on “D” /rolleyes. Disturbing.
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What is disturbing is the number of Hawkeye fans that think because they read a few blogs and look at scout.com they think they know what players we should and should not be recruiting.
Have you actually met or talked to any of these players, or their coaches, or watched them play? Do you know anything about their possible development, background, upbringing, and goals? The answer to all these questions is of course – NO. In short – you have utterly no idea what you are talking about.
Do you have 30+ years of football coaching and recruting experience? No? Then quit being “disturbed” and maybe give our guys the benefit of the doubt. They pulled his offer because of reasons that they can’t share (per NCAA rules), because it’s none of your (or my) business.
Let the coaches coach, you are a fan. You cheer. That’s it. Otherwise put in an application or walk on to the team. Tired of all the negativity from the armchair coaches and recruiters who don’t know anything!
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Quanzell Lambert, a 6-foot-2, 230-pound linebacker from Timber Creek High School in Sickerville, N.J?????
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The need at RB is greater than the need at DL. Maybe it was done to keep another DL from jumping ship to MSU. It’ll be fine.
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Those that are talking dont know and those that know arent talking. Im sure were simply trying to get the best bang for our buck. . . .Go Hawkeyes
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Also, Iowa missed out on Quanzell Lambert who picked Rutgers over Iowa and Nebraska last week or the week before. Since then Rutgers head coach has left for the NFL and rumor is Lambert is opening his recruiting back up. Could this be a sign?
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I think it’s fairly obvious why the offer was pulled. As we have seen only too frequently lately, you are either committed to the program or you are not and by going to NC State to “honor a commitment” sends a message that you aren’t 100% in. You don’t get engaged one night and then go out on a date the next night with someone else. We don’t like the turnover of players but the message has been very consistent, you are either all in or you aren’t here, period. Nothing wrong with those expectations.
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The system here has become very Soviet, as in we’ll never know.
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NYCHawkeye…
…NCAA rules prohibit coaches from commenting on recruits before they are signed.
If you are truly so ignorant that you don’t know that, perhaps you should just keep your trap shut.
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Has become? When was it ever any different? Coaches are forbidden to talk about recruits during the process.
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Fans listen to all the local media here that are pissed because Ferentz doesn’t give them special access. So, they listen and read sites like this that poke at people’s confidence in our staff, acting like something is wrong because they won’t talk to us.
I have one word for all these new and young Hawk fans that have come on board in the last 10 years, or those who have forgotten the past – SPOILED. Get a grip. We have a good class and people are getting all riled up about some JUCO LB. Also, this could mean we are going to get Lambert after Schiano left Rutgers. It’s probably a good sign!
Try and tell the haters that though.
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