DE Noah Fant [Iowa - Signed LOI]

Red Five said:
Thanks_Tom RR said:
Omaha-Husker said:
Warrior10 said:
SSO over on Huskermax is pretty tied to the program and Omaha. He says we weren't showing a ton of interest, way less then iowa, and the both parties drifted apart. Also says it's not over and Fant is basically re-opening the recruitment after his season.

Imo, more it's a spot saving spot. But I still don't think he ever ends up here.
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Got a text this morning that said something similar. Nebraska wasn't showing as much interest as Iowa and that Fant hasn't responded to a number of recent contacts by the coaching staff.
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Fant has said as much since May. In fact, Iowa told Fant in June that he was their #1 guy at TE and DE. Riley was his point of contact here, so it is a little disappointing that Nebraska could not close the deal. We could split hairs about why or how, but in the end, Iowa did a better job recruiting him.
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SSO basically said that Fant didn't reciprocate our staff's interest in him, thus the drifting away.
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Yeah apparently he hadn't responded to any attempt to reach him by our coaching staff for a while now. Tough to put on a full court press when the guy wont talk to you. Maybe the staff didn't show him enough love in the spring who knows. I would rather the staff not waste their time on a guy not willing to pick up the phone though. I am moving on.

 
BIG ERN said:
From Roger Craig to now John Raridon - we have had several kids from Iowa who played for Nebraska. I'm sure they were saying the same thing when they left the state.

I personally would have seen how this staff utilizes TEs before making the decison but if I was currently looking to play TE, Iowa is the better option right now. Those are facts just based on the success in college accolades, NFL potential, and how often they are used in their offense.
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Yep, we've gotten a lot more out of Iowa than they have gotten out of Nebraska.

 
Noah does realize Tim Beck is gone and we now have a coach who actually knows we have TE's on our roster right?

 
But Iowa's mail kept coming day after day. The Hawkeyes had three different coaches putting a full-court press on the 6-foot-5, 210-pounder.

“Iowa was out of this world in recruiting me,” Fant told The World-Herald in an interview Friday. “I got mail every day. Direct messages (on Twitter). They made me their No. 1 priority.”

So five days before he publicly committed to the Hawkeyes on the “Sharp and Benning In the Morning” radio show, Fant took a quick visit to Iowa City. He wanted to see how the Hawkeyes practice. He liked what he saw.

On Tuesday night. Fant said he settled on Iowa, rival to home-state Nebraska. He picked Iowa over what he called a tie between NU, UCLA and Vanderbilt. One big reason: Fant finally settled on a position. Tight end. Once he did that, Fant said, the Hawkeyes emerged as a clear leader.

“They've had seven tight ends in the NFL,” Fant said of Iowa's pedigree of sending players at that position to the league. “I think it's the best fit for me.”

Fant left open the possibility of looking at other schools — such as Arizona State or Notre Dame — if they offer. That may be wise, since Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz sits on a hot seat in Iowa City after a 34-30 record in the last five seasons.

...

Still, contact between Fant and Nebraska slowed down over the summer. NU pursued Stoll and another tight end from Knoxville, Tennessee, who eventually committed to the Volunteers. Fant took visits to Vanderbilt, UCLA and California-Berkeley.
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OWH

 
knapplc said:
Mavric said:
knapplc said:
Red Five said:
SSO basically said that Fant didn't reciprocate our staff's interest in him, thus the drifting away.
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He would have been more responsive if we had recruited harder.
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So the previous staff had it right all along by (supposedly) not putting as much effort into recruiting because it doesn't matter anyway.
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No, the onus is entirely on the school. Doesn't matter if a kid likes School A more than School Z. If School Z recruits harder, he'll go to School Z.
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Good. At least we can agree that there isn't any possibility for any middle ground.

 
Maybe this kid goes on to med school and cures cancer or aids or something. But hey, football and a nebraska kid are important too

 
This kid will be on Bottom Line with Joe Ganz & Jon Nyatawa at 4:30. Maybe he'll tell us that he really wanted to go to Nebraska but Riley wouldn't recruit him. Or maybe he'll say he thought Iowa was a better fit for him.

Listen in.

 
I would always get a little bothered when hearing about a talented Nebraska kid that didn't really get any attention from the coaching staff or was just plain ignored. Sounds to me like we recruited this kid plenty. He says himself Nebraska recruited him well. Sounds like he wants to play TE and he appreciates Iowa's use of the TE position. As we all know, Nebraska hasn't put much emphasis on the TE position in recent history. Can't blame the kid for wanting to be a part of an offense that he'll be a bit more of a focus. I'm not bitter about him choosing Iowa, but I am always a little bit surprised when a Nebraska kid goes elsewhere. I think he'll probably regret it as I see Nebraska as a much better program than Iowa, and I see Nebraska moving toward using the TE more in the near future, but this is his decision to make. Nebraska did what they could. Best of luck to the young man at Iowa.

 
This sounds like the most non-committed commit. The way this sounds, I'd be surprised if this kid ends up at Iowa.

Nebraska Tight End Picks Not Nebraska

“As my family and I looked at each school and how Iowa was recruiting me and really pushing me and letting me know that, ‘Hey, you’re our guy and we have big plans for you,’” Fant said. “Also, just the way they pump tight ends out of their school and into the NFL, that’s one of my dreams. It just ended up being the best fit for me at that point. My family really left it up to me.”
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OK, so the kid is committed to playing Tight End, that much is clear. But is he really committed to Iowa?

Fant said he would re-evaluate after the season and that he is open to new offers. The two “uh oh” offers for Iowa there would be Oregon and Notre Dame.

“I might get a couple more offers, I’m not sure,” Fant said. “But new offers, like Arizona State, I’ll re-evaluate and see if there are any other schools I could possibly see myself going to and kind of go from there.”

Why commit today if you think you still want to evaluate, one of the hosts asked.

“Because this is the school I feel confident I’ll be going to,” Fant said. “Right now, they are the school that showed me the most interest. I’m comfortable at heart with where I’m going with them. If another school didn’t offer me, I’d be totally happy going there.”
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Say what? You've committed, but you're going to keep accepting offers and you're going to reevaluate where you're committed at the end of the season?

Good luck with that, Iowa.

 
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