CEDAR FALLS, Ia. — In familiar fashion, Northern Iowa went big and went local.
In finalizing their 24-person 2017 recruiting class, the Panthers inked 18 in-state players and seven offensive linemen — two points coach Mark Farley feels were of utmost importance.
“If you go back and really analyze it, we needed size, we needed the intangibles — that toughness,” Farley told The Des Moines Register Wednesday. “And we didn’t have to drive far to find it. It was all right here within the state, and some of it was right here around our school.”
Five of the seven offensive linemen are in-state players, including Jake Crozier (Twin Cedars), Mason Neisen (Denver), Trevor Penning (Newman Catholic), Erik Sorensen (Waukee) and John Yount (Ankeny Centennial).