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With a father that played football at the University of Iowa, the Hawkeyes were always going to be hard to beat for four-star defensive end A.J. Epenesa. After Iowa’s resurgence this past year, starting the season 12-0 and making it to the Rose Bowl, it seemed like it might be only a matter of time.
On Sunday, that time arrived, as Epenesa made his verbal commitment to the Hawkeyes during a visit to campus for Iowa’s junior day.
“This morning my family and I have come together with all the coaches and told them that I am committing to the University of Iowa,” said Epenesa when he announced his decision on Twitter.
Shortly after the announcement, we spoke with Epenesa, who told us that while Iowa’s success in 2015 played a role in his decision, the reality is it only confirmed what he already knew deep down.
“It played into it, but I feel like I’ve known for a while now that I wanted to come here and commit and play football for Iowa,” said Epenesa. “The season this year just kind of made it even better because I can be part of the success they’re having and hopefully bring more success to the team.”
With scholarship offers from the likes of Alabama, Oklahoma, Florida State, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, Notre Dame, Nebraska, and a host of others, the recruiting process was just beginning to heat up for the No. 27 ranked prospect in the Class of 2017.
A number of college coaches have made their way out to Edwardsville, IL to visit his high school this winter, which made Epenesa feel like he might want to start narrowing things down. As it turned out, instead of a list of four or five finalists, he whittled it all the way down to one.
“I had to try to come up with like a top five out of all the different schools, but really I’ve just always wanted to go to Iowa and be a Hawkeye my whole life,” Epenesa said. “Finally, I get to just let everyone know.”
Having the weight of a college decision off your shoulders is often a relief for a highly recruited prospect like Epenesa. While it is, in a way, he says it more about celebrating a decision that he is happy to finally share with everyone.
“I was telling Coach Woods earlier that I don’t really see this as relief of stress off my back because I think for a while I’ve known where I want to go,” said Epenesa. “But just committing and telling people that I want to go here, I feel like it just makes me happy more than anything because I don’t have to keep it inside. I can be open about it and now people know how happy I am to be a Hawkeye.”
While the four-star prospect is clearly happy about his decision and the Iowa coaching staff has to be ecstatic, there might be one person even more excited than all of them. That is the first in the family to wear the Hawkeye uniform, Epenesa Epenesa, who no doubt is a proud father today.
“He’s very excited,” A.J. Epenesa said of his father. “He’s just as happy, if not more happy than I am.”
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With a father that played football at the University of Iowa, the Hawkeyes were always going to be hard to beat for four-star defensive end A.J. Epenesa. After Iowa’s resurgence this past year, starting the season 12-0 and making it to the Rose Bowl, it seemed like it might be only a matter of time.
On Sunday, that time arrived, as Epenesa made his verbal commitment to the Hawkeyes during a visit to campus for Iowa’s junior day.
“This morning my family and I have come together with all the coaches and told them that I am committing to the University of Iowa,” said Epenesa when he announced his decision on Twitter.
Shortly after the announcement, we spoke with Epenesa, who told us that while Iowa’s success in 2015 played a role in his decision, the reality is it only confirmed what he already knew deep down.
“It played into it, but I feel like I’ve known for a while now that I wanted to come here and commit and play football for Iowa,” said Epenesa. “The season this year just kind of made it even better because I can be part of the success they’re having and hopefully bring more success to the team.”
With scholarship offers from the likes of Alabama, Oklahoma, Florida State, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, Notre Dame, Nebraska, and a host of others, the recruiting process was just beginning to heat up for the No. 27 ranked prospect in the Class of 2017.
A number of college coaches have made their way out to Edwardsville, IL to visit his high school this winter, which made Epenesa feel like he might want to start narrowing things down. As it turned out, instead of a list of four or five finalists, he whittled it all the way down to one.
“I had to try to come up with like a top five out of all the different schools, but really I’ve just always wanted to go to Iowa and be a Hawkeye my whole life,” Epenesa said. “Finally, I get to just let everyone know.”
Having the weight of a college decision off your shoulders is often a relief for a highly recruited prospect like Epenesa. While it is, in a way, he says it more about celebrating a decision that he is happy to finally share with everyone.
“I was telling Coach Woods earlier that I don’t really see this as relief of stress off my back because I think for a while I’ve known where I want to go,” said Epenesa. “But just committing and telling people that I want to go here, I feel like it just makes me happy more than anything because I don’t have to keep it inside. I can be open about it and now people know how happy I am to be a Hawkeye.”
While the four-star prospect is clearly happy about his decision and the Iowa coaching staff has to be ecstatic, there might be one person even more excited than all of them. That is the first in the family to wear the Hawkeye uniform, Epenesa Epenesa, who no doubt is a proud father today.
“He’s very excited,” A.J. Epenesa said of his father. “He’s just as happy, if not more happy than I am.”
