The Iowa Hawkeyes are no strangers to delivering NFL-caliber talent year in and year out. They are doing so at a clip unseen by many college football teams. This gives credence to their ability to bring in under-recruited, undersized, and overlooked prospects and turn them into stars.
With the NFL draft now only two days away, the Hawkeyes have a handful of prospects that will be taking their talents to new homes across the country. True to Iowa fashion, most of these prospects have spent multiple years in Iowa City developing, getting stronger, and turning into high-quality prospects.
As tweeted by the official Iowa Hawkeyes Football account, 87% of their senior starters over the last 20 years have gotten their shot in the NFL via the draft or signed as a free agent.
At a program like Iowa, where the model is to spend the first year redshirting and developing, their starters are very senior heavy. Just last year alone, the Hawkeyes had eight senior starters across the three units.
This year should be no exception. Three former seniors waiting to find out their new home are defensive back Matt Hankins, defensive back Jack Koerner, and defensive end Zach VanValkenburg.
Hankins, a five-year player for Iowa, gives NFL teams instant depth at defensive back. Coming from a proven defense and experience in the form of 37 straight starts, he becomes a great plug-and-play piece for a team needing help in the secondary.
Projecting as a day-three pick, Hankins is going to likely be a solid contributor early on for the team that snags him on Saturday. He is the type of player that when drafted, teams know what they are getting. In a late-round pick, that is a gem of a selection.
Koerner is another in a long line of Hawkeye safeties that is going to get a shot at the next level. Being a four-year player and seeing time in 36 games, Koerner has found a way to succeed and that is due to his willingness to contribute in run defense.
He will add size once an NFL team gets their…
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