Hawkeyes Play Host to Carlos Blount Jr.
Playing Class 5A varsity football as a freshman is uncommon. In doing so last fall, Carlos Blount Jr. stands out as a player to watch moving forward.
Blount Jr. recorded 15.0 tackles (11 solo) as a ninth-grader for an Ankeny Centennial team that reached the state semifinals. That certainly caught the attention of college scouts.
Iowa was one of those programs. Blount Jr. visited the Hawkeyes this past weekend for a junior day.
"I think my favorite part of the visit was sitting down with coach (Seth) Wallace and a couple other linebacker recruits," Blount Jr. told HN. "Coach Wallace did a great job breaking down what Iowa football really is about and I was glad I got to learn about it."
Iowa, Kansas and Iowa State played host to Blount Jr. at camps last summer. He also was invited to the Adidas freshman All-American camp during December in Florida.
"I'd say Iowa has definitely shown me the most interest in these early stages of my recruitment. I haven't heard anything from Iowa State since (last) summer at their camp. I'll be at Iowa and Iowa State this summer, also Minnesota. The rest are to be determined," he said.
Iowa assistant coach Jay Niemann has gotten to know Blount Jr. during the recruiting process. Hawkeye linebacker coach Seth Wallace interacted with the prospect for a second time last weekend.
"Coach Niemann has met with me on multiple occasions at the high school so far. It's great to see him and talk to him. And I met with Coach Wallace for the first time since camp. Coach Wallace has taken a lot of interest in me since the summer. I will be back up there when spring ball starts and again during the summer," Blount Jr. said.
Blount Jr. knows a lot about Iowa being an in-state guy. He holds more knowledge on the Hawkeyes after the junior day.
"I learned a lot over the weekend, but what really stood out is the consistency of winning and the way they produce lots of NFL talent. The defense is a very strong unit for the Hawkeyes, which means a lot being a linebacker," he said.
With three-plus years of high school remaining, there's plenty of time for Blount Jr.to build relationships with college coaches. He'll also be focusing on academics in his search for a post-prep home.
"I'm not too sure what I want to study since college is still pretty far in my future, but I've leaned towards Kinesiology for the past couple months," he said.
Blount Jr. (5-10, 190) looks fast and physical during his freshman highlight video. He reads his keys well and stands out on special teams, too.
