By Jordan Hansen  |  [email protected]

There is positive momentum in the Iowa football program and it’s spread to the recruiting front.

While Iowa’s Rose Bowl run will be most noticeable in 2017’s recruits and beyond, the 24 student-athletes the Hawkeyes are expected to sign Wednesday are ranked as the No. 41 class by Rivals — 18 places better than the 2015 class.

Interestingly enough, 23 of those recruits committed before the Hawkeye football team played a down this season. One of the major reasons?

The new Hansen Football Performance Center.

“[The 2016 class] was the first class that they could almost recruit from beginning to end in the new football complex,” HawkeyeReport.com recruiting analyst Tom Kakert said. “I think it helped them impress recruits, and I think it might have helped the guys that were on the edge to pick the Hawkeyes.”

The facility carried a hefty price tag of $55 million, but it competes with some of the best in the nation. Including the indoor field, it measures 178,000 square feet.

The recruits haven’t been the only one impressed on visits.

“The facilities have been mentioned by a lot of recruits and parents of recruits who have taken visits to the school,” Rivals.com Midwest recruiting reporter Josh Helmholdt said. “It’s definitely resonating and going to be a selling point on future recruiting visits.”

Three stars

While Iowa’s 2016 recruiting class is solid, it’s unsurprisingly filled with three-star recruits.

The Hawkeyes don’t have a headline recruit; they instead opted to fill out the back end of the class with one- and two-star recruits. According to Rivals, of the 24 expected to sign today, 20 are three-star recruits, with the other four rated at two stars.

ESPN has Ferentz’s class ranked a bit differently because several three-star Rivals recruits are rated two stars by its rankings and vice versa. However, ESPN has Iowa with two more three-star recruits than does Rivals.

“I think the class is getting overlooked because it doesn’t have that big headliner. It is a very solid class and addresses a lot of needs,” Helmholdt said. “I think it’s going to be the base of what I see as future successful Iowa programs.”

Looking ahead

Iowa went heavy on defensive this cycle and are expected to sign two standout linemen from Detroit — Cedrick Lattimore and Chauncey Golston.

While the Hawkeyes have plenty of youth at that position right now, things could open up in the near future. Tackle Jaleel Johnson will be a senior next season, and Nathan Bazata is a junior.

It seems likely both Lattimore (6-4, 251 pounds) and Golston (6-5, 235 pounds) will redshirt next season, allowing them to bulk up to the point where they could fight for playing time during the 2017 season.

They won’t be the only ones with redshirt seasons in the future. Iowa’s 2016 class has been described as versatile — meaning there are a number of positions players could end up at. However, it will take time for players who aren’t jumping into the spot they played in high school to adjust.

Ferentz has never been keen on playing true freshmen, but some do usually find their way on to the depth chart.

“I’d expect one or two of the defensive backs in this class to come in and get some playing time right away,” Kakert said. “Iowa’s pretty thin at corner moving forward, and [Iowa defensive coordinator] Phil Parker always likes to get those guys on the field and help out in special teams or dime coverage.”

Remember the name: Emmanuel Rugamba

Out of Naperville, Illinois, Rugamba played mostly wide receiver in high school and had offers from a number of Power-5 schools, including Illinois, Pittsburgh, Indiana, and Boston College

He’s a three-star recruit and one of the better athletes in the class, though he might not stay on offense next year.

“He can play a couple positions, but it sounds like Iowa wants to play him on the defensive side of the ball,” Helmholdt said. “He’s a guy that’s just an exceptional football player. Wherever you put him on the field, he understands the game, and those guys are valuable.”

Rugamba, however, has also received plenty of compliments for his hands as well. Iowa has had tremendous success flipping offensive players to defense before, with Desmond King being one of the most recent examples.

“He’s a tremendous wide receiver, an exceptional route-runner, has great hands,” Helmholdt said about Rugamba. “But, his skillset translates well to defensive back. He’s a guy that I feel has that playmaking type ability.”

Hey — I’ve seen that name before

It turns out it’s not real hard to persuade one brother to come play football at the other’s school.

Nick Niemann — Iowa linebacker Ben Niemann’s brother and Kyle Taylor (Iowa safety Miles Taylor’s brother) are both expected to sign with Iowa today.

Both Miles Taylor and Ben Niemann played as true freshmen, and it’s not a stretch to think their brothers might do the same. Both Nick Niemann and Kyle Taylor come in as linebackers, though that may change.

“I put Niemann up there to play as maybe a special-teams guy and then come in and really help them the following year,” Kakert said. “That’s always kind of been [Iowa’s] mode of operation.”