Indiana Football Grabbed Two Out-of-State Commits on Wednesday: Sign of Things to Come?
By Edward Koton
With National Signing Day looming, Kevin Wilson secured commitments from two key out-of-state prospects, offensive lineman Mackenzie Nworah and defensive end Dennis Wonnum. Don’t be surprised if these commitments are just an appetizer to what should be an exciting week for Indiana Football.
The Indiana University Football program finds itself in a unique scenario in comparison to many other schools around the country. With only 14 commits in the class of 2016, and national signing day around the corner, Indiana finds itself with somewhat of a surprising blessing. That blessing comes in a very basic form, as if Indiana wasn’t coming 0ff of such a strong program building year, those double-digit extra scholarships laying around wouldn’t be so convenient. Now, with all that extra room laying around, it appears Coach Wilson is just about ready to go shopping. This was already made evident by the quick commitments of Mackenzie Nworah and Dennis Wonnum, but don’t be surprised when that shopping cart begins to get a little bit heavier.
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Now, I mentioned that this blessing was surprising, but I also wouldn’t rule out the fact that it could have been well calculated. A calculated risk, waiting until later on in the recruiting process, until after the season is over, in hopes that the season goes well enough to have a talented product to sell to recruits.
It’s hard not to argue that this season provided Kevin Wilson with at least some sort of viable product to sell, and with many other teams maxed or near maxed out with their recruiting classes, Kevin Wilson is plucking away at the talent left available.
It also doesn’t hurt to have an improved recruiting pitch thanks to a six year contract extension and the addition of Tom Allen to the staff. Tom Allen not only has a great awareness for Indiana High Schools, but he also has a strong connection to the hotbed of talent in Florida as a former coach at USF.
Now on to the recent commitments, Mackenzie Nworah is a 6-3, 306-pound offensive lineman that chose Indiana over offers from schools like Arizona State, Boston College, Maryland, Missouri and Oklahoma State.
According to 247Sports, Nworah is a 3-star recruit and is the 35th best offensive guard recruit in the country.
The important thing to notice with Nworah is the schools IU was competing with. Beating out any SEC school, no matter which one, is progress.
Indiana’s other commitment, Dennis Wonnum is also a three-star prospect. He can play both tight end and defensive end, which can definitely be very helpful for IU, but he is expected to play defensive end in college.
Another big man, Wonnum comes in at 6-4 and 225-pounds. Wonnum visited Indiana this past weekend, and it didn’t take long for him to chose IU over Nebraska, USF, and California.
He had previously been committed to Iowa State, but de-committed in the fall.
Wonnum comes to IU all the way from Georgia, and Nworah is a prospect out of Texas. Both could be influential in the future, but nothing in comparison to the potential that the rest of this recruiting class could bring. There are currently 11 guys to look out for in the next week, but there could easily be more as some of these prospects relatively came out of nowhere over the past few days. (i.e. Jonah Morris and Pernell Jefferson)
Desmond Fitzpatrick is arguably the most crucial potential member of this recruiting class. According to 247Sports, Fitzpatrick is a 4-star wide receiver from Michigan. He recently narrowed down his list to IU, Louisville, Nebraska, and Arizona, and is planning to make his decision on February 1st at 2:00pm. Fitzpatrick visited Indiana on December 11th, and has been quoted as appreciating the strength of IU’s offense and believe it or not, their broadcast journalism program. Fitzpatrick has also had to deal with some adversity in his life. And when I mean adversity, I’m referring to being required to listen to 20 out of tune football coaches sing you “happy birthday.”
Kiante Enis is a fun little case of, you suck Michigan. We don’t like you, and now we want your running back.
Enis was formerly committed to the Wolverines before they landed the number one running back in the nation. Once they did, Enis did the intelligent thing and get out of that program while he could. He is from Winchester, Indiana, and according to 247Sports, he is the sixth best prospect from the state of Indiana. Enis originally visited on December 4th with a few other crucial prospects such as Malik Harrison.
Amir Watts is a 6-3, 270-pound, 3-star defensive tackle from Chicago that visited Indiana on January 15th.
Jonah Morris is a 6-4, 197-pound, 3-star athlete that seemingly popped up out of nowhere. No accredited recruiting source seemed to acknowledge much interest in IU from him until yesterday, when he just kinda took an official visit. Now Kevin Wilson is on hot pursuit.
Dequinton Osbourne is a 6-0, 310-pound defensive tackle that is currently committed to UCF, but is looking at other options. Alex McCarthy of 247Sports is reporting that defensive coordinator Tom Allen visited Osbourne today and Osbourne is now on his way to his official visit. One can assume that Tom Allen’s Florida connection provided some help here.
Malik Harrison has been on Indiana’s radar for a while, but has had to compete with Ohio State for his services. The question probably surrounding Harrison’s decision is how much he values playing time. Malik is a 6-4, 215-pound athlete, and he visited IU on December 4th.
Collin Miller is a 6-3, 210-pound, 3-star outside linebacker, and he is considered the top outside linebacker in the state of Indiana. He had his official visit on December 11th.
DyMelle Parker is a 6-2, 210-pound 3-star outside linebacker and he will be visiting Indiana on January 29.
Pernell Jefferson is a 6-1, 235-pound 3-star outside linebacker and he appeared to have momentum with Oklahoma and Nebraska in recruiting, but his recent visit on January 29th changes that mindset.
Dee Walker is a 6-3, 210-pound outside linebacker and he visited on January 15th.
Paul Ramirez is a 6-6, 300-pound, JUCO offensive tackle that just visited on January 22nd.
If you haven’t noticed yet, there is going to be a lot of action in this next week for IU. Don’t be surprised if you hear names you hadn’t heard before, and don’t be surprised if this Indiana recruiting class becomes one of the best in school history.