The Iowa coaching staff has stayed in close contact with Pella safety Noah Clayberg throughout the recruiting process and asked him to stay patient with them. The 5-foot-11, 202-pound Clayberg has done exactly that, while continuing to look at other opportunities, and on Monday the Hawkeyes came to visit with some news.
"Coach Ferentz said that he has a plan for me,” said Clayberg. “He pretty much said if they could have 26 players on scholarship this year, then I would be in business, but since they can’t he said either a preferred walk-on or I could grayshirt and join the team next January on full scholarship."
“They said they’d really like to have me on the team and want me to keep them updated on my choice.”
The grayshirt option is a new one for Clayberg, who was named Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Iowa after leading Pella to state titles in Class 3A each of the past two seasons.
“With the grayshirt option, I could join the team next January, but I wouldn’t be able to practice or lift with the team until the season is over,” Clayberg said. “But then starting in January I would be on full scholarship and start my eligibility after that.”
This weekend, Clayberg will get a chance to talk things over even more with the Hawkeye coaching staff during his official visit to Iowa City. Meanwhile, he also has three FCS offers on the table and visited one of those programs this past weekend.
“I have offers from South Dakota State, Western Illinois, and most recently from South Dakota,” said Clayberg. “I took my official visit to South Dakota this past weekend and I really liked it there a lot. I have a really good relationship with all of their coaches.”
While Clayberg is still processing everything, it looks like two options have risen to the top of the list at the moment.
“I would say it’s kind of narrowed down to South Dakota and Iowa right now,” Clayberg said.
As a dual-threat quarterback at Pella, Clayberg put up ridiculous numbers on offense this past season, throwing for 1,695 yards and 21 touchdowns and rushing for 1,846 yards and 30 touchdowns. He also finished with 44 tackles, 10 TFL, and an interception on defense as well.
While he likely projects at safety, there is a chance Clayberg could play offense in college and both of his two finalists have given him that option if he wants to pursue it.
“What I tell people is I love playing both, but I really do love running the ball,” said Clayberg. “I think if I got a chance to see if I could be a ball carrier, I would give it a shot just to try it.”
“Coach Ferentz said at Iowa, I could try starting out at running back and if that didn’t work out, I could move to safety,” he continued. “South Dakota said on defense, it would be safety, or if it’s offense slot receiver or running back, maybe even quarterback.”
But that will be just one of the factors Clayberg will consider when he goes to make his final decision by signing day on February 3.
“I think it’s just going to be me processing what I want my college football career to look like mainly,” Clayberg said.
"Coach Ferentz said that he has a plan for me,” said Clayberg. “He pretty much said if they could have 26 players on scholarship this year, then I would be in business, but since they can’t he said either a preferred walk-on or I could grayshirt and join the team next January on full scholarship."
“They said they’d really like to have me on the team and want me to keep them updated on my choice.”
The grayshirt option is a new one for Clayberg, who was named Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Iowa after leading Pella to state titles in Class 3A each of the past two seasons.
“With the grayshirt option, I could join the team next January, but I wouldn’t be able to practice or lift with the team until the season is over,” Clayberg said. “But then starting in January I would be on full scholarship and start my eligibility after that.”
This weekend, Clayberg will get a chance to talk things over even more with the Hawkeye coaching staff during his official visit to Iowa City. Meanwhile, he also has three FCS offers on the table and visited one of those programs this past weekend.
“I have offers from South Dakota State, Western Illinois, and most recently from South Dakota,” said Clayberg. “I took my official visit to South Dakota this past weekend and I really liked it there a lot. I have a really good relationship with all of their coaches.”
While Clayberg is still processing everything, it looks like two options have risen to the top of the list at the moment.
“I would say it’s kind of narrowed down to South Dakota and Iowa right now,” Clayberg said.
As a dual-threat quarterback at Pella, Clayberg put up ridiculous numbers on offense this past season, throwing for 1,695 yards and 21 touchdowns and rushing for 1,846 yards and 30 touchdowns. He also finished with 44 tackles, 10 TFL, and an interception on defense as well.
While he likely projects at safety, there is a chance Clayberg could play offense in college and both of his two finalists have given him that option if he wants to pursue it.
“What I tell people is I love playing both, but I really do love running the ball,” said Clayberg. “I think if I got a chance to see if I could be a ball carrier, I would give it a shot just to try it.”
“Coach Ferentz said at Iowa, I could try starting out at running back and if that didn’t work out, I could move to safety,” he continued. “South Dakota said on defense, it would be safety, or if it’s offense slot receiver or running back, maybe even quarterback.”
But that will be just one of the factors Clayberg will consider when he goes to make his final decision by signing day on February 3.
“I think it’s just going to be me processing what I want my college football career to look like mainly,” Clayberg said.
