Cyrus Kouandjio is visiting Iowa this weekend
A few days ago, word spread that Kouandjio was considering dropping his planned visit to Iowa to travel to USC (or a couple of other schools). Yesterday, however, it was confirmed that he will be traveling to Iowa City on Saturday with teammate Darian Cooper.Kouandjio is one of the top (if not the top) offensive lineman recruit in the country. He is a universal 5-star and recently participated in the Under Armour All-American Game. His brother currently attends Alabama and it is expected by many that he will follow in his brother's shoes and sign with the Crimson Tide on February 2. He does also have ties to Iowa though. He and Marcus Coker were teammates last year at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, MD. It also wouldn't hurt if Cooper picks the Hawkeyes.
No to get way ahead of myself here, but if Kouandjio enjoys his visit this weekend and decides to commit, he could have a big impact right away. I envision him challenging for one of the guard spots right away and then in a year when Zusevics is gone (and maybe Reiff too), take over as a starting tackle.
Klug and Ballard are moving up the draft board
The East-West Shrine game is the weekend. Iowa has two players, Karl Klug and Ryan Donahue, that will be playing on Saturday trying to impress NFL scouts. Wes Bunting may think Klug's arms are too short, but Klug has received some good reviews from ESPN scouts: "The plus side is, and one of the reasons we liked him on film, is he's a high-effort guy with active hands, and those help make up for his weaknesses."The other college all-star game coming up is the Senior Bowl which takes place next Saturday. Stanzi, Clayborn, and Ballard will all take part. Mel Kiper pegs Clayborn and Ballard as first rounders in his mock draft. If both did get drafted in the first round, it would be the first time since 1997 (Tommy Knight and Ross Verba) that Iowa had 2 players drafted that high.