Links For Iowa welcomes back Prater

Iowa just misses out on being ranked

The Hawkeyes win over Missouri in the Insight Bowl was not enough to boost Iowa back into the top 25 rankings. In the AP Poll, Iowa received 54 points and missed out of the top 25 by two spots. The coaches were a little less kind to the Hawks and have them 30th. With the losses of seniors at several key positions (namely quarterback, receiver, and the defensive line), I can't imagine Iowa will be ranked that start the next season.

Shaun Prater announces he'll return

Prater initially made his announcement on Twitter and Facebook. It was later confirmed by the school and Ferentz--"I was very pleased to learn of Shaun Prater’s decision to return to the team for his senior season. Shaun has played very good football for us the past few years and I expect him to continue growing both as a player and team leader next season."

Prater is the first to commit to coming back of the 3 juniors who were toying with the idea of leaving early. McNutt and Sash are the other two. Having Prater back will be very helpful for a defense that will be breaking in a lot of new faces along the front seven and potentially at both safety spots (depending on Sash's decision). Prater with Micah Hyde at the other corner spot could give Iowa one of the best duos in the conference at the position.

DJK in the Texas vs. The Nation game

This one also spurs off of Twitter. DJK tweeted that he'd be sporting the Iowa helmet one more time in the all-star game. There has been no confirmation that DJK is in the game (but why would he lie?) and he wasn't mentioned by Iowa in their Hawkeyes Invited to Postseason Games post. DJK later tweeted that he would wear a plain black helmet to appease the fans that say he shouldn't be associated the University anymore. It is a really interesting topic and I'm very curious to see what Iowa will decide to do with it. I could go either way on this one...the part of me that has never really cared for DJK thinks he was kicked off the team and shouldn't get to play in the game as a representative of Iowa. The other part of me though, thinks that he was a loyal Hawkeye who made a mistake (or more like a series of mistakes) and based on his on the field performance should get a final shot at representing Iowa on the field.

Quinton Alston commits to Iowa

Alston was previously a commit for Pitt but with their recent turmoil at head coach (now 3 different head coaches in the past month or so...) he re-opened his recruitment. Ferentz paid him a visit last week and came away with Iowa's 4th linebacker committed for the incoming 2011 class. Alston is a 3-star linebacker by both Scout and Rivals from Sicklerville, New Jersey. Iowa now has 20 commits with signing day right around the corner (February 2nd). I plan on catching up on recruiting one of these days and assess the class Iowa has coming in.