The 2021 college football recruiting cycle was perhaps one of the wildest on record. While some prospects were able to take unofficial visits as college juniors, by and large the class of 2021 was forced to make one of the biggest decisions of their lives without stepping foot on college campuses as high school seniors.
For a program like Iowa, that should have been a nearly insurmountable challenge. The Hawkeyes have no doubt had on-field success, but the program is not and never will be a blueblood. It has a reputation for churning out NFL draft picks at a handful of positions, but that’s typically not enough to attract high end talent when head-to-head with those bluebloods who have also produced NFL talent.