Wednesday has been a busy day for the Iowa Hawkeyes, as they added two new commitments to their 2011 recruiting class.

Ray Hamilton, a TE out of  Strongsville H.S. in Ohio, and John Raymon, a DE/TE from Council Rock H.S. North (Newtown, PA), pledged their allegiances to the black and gold this afternoon.

Hamilton is ranked a three-star recruit by both Scout and Rivals. He is a big kid at 6-foot-5, 230 pounds but can move, claiming a 4.70 40-yard dash. What’s most impressive is the list of schools Hamilton turned down to become a Hawkeye. That list includes Boston College, California, Cincinnati, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Stanford, West Virginia and Wisconsin–among others.

Scoutingohio.com has some good video footage of Hamilton in action. Looks like your typical Iowa tight end–and that’s saying something.

Raymon is listed primarily as a DE. He’s only a couple of pounds bigger than Hamilton at 235 and is 6-foot-5, as well. Neither Rivals or Scout hasRaymon ranked but he attracted offers from Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina State, Purdue, Temple and West Virginia.

Iowa Recruiting Review

Not including Raymon, as his main position is presumably DE, five of the Hawkeyes’ seven commitments are either TEs or WRs. Raymon is the first defensive recruit. This will even itself out but I’d like to see the Hawkeyes make a splash with some higher-ranked defensive recruits, mainly defensive linemen (like Raymon) and linebackers. Looking at the latest depth chart from Rivals, a lot of seniors pop up at those two positions–first and second string.

In another note, it’s always good to see home-grown kids on the list. The Hawkeyes have welcomed two Iowa natives to the team, OL Austin Blythe (Williamsburg) and TE Henry Kreiger-Coble (Mt. Pleasant).

Rivals has Blythe listed as Iowa’s only four-star recruit so far. Scout ranks Blythe three-stars.

According to Rivals, Iowa has recruited fairly well with Blythe (four stars) and JaCorey Shepherd (WR), Ray Hamilton (RB), and Marcus Grant (RB) all ranked at three stars. With Blythe ranked only three stars and Grant dropped to two on Scout, the Hawkeyes look as though they’ve done an average job recruiting this offseason–but it’s hard to tell and there’s still a long way to go.

Here are links to the sites’ Iowa recruit lists:

Scout

Rivals

Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes will once again find themselves playing “catch-up” with Ohio State in terms of recruiting. The Buckeyes have already claimed two five-star and seven four-star players, according the Scout.

Hope that didn’t ruin your evening.

Head over to Bleacherreport.com to see the complete Iowa Hawkeyes Class of 2010 in slide show format. It’s one of the most comprehensive collections of all the incoming Hawkeyes you’ll find on the web.

Enjoy. It took a while.

After perusing the depths of the many top recruiting websites, I was reminded of why I chose to create this blog: So that the avid Hawkeye fan that doesn’t want to sort through confusing recruiting jargon can enjoy a little inside knowledge of the Hawkeyes’ class of 2010.

I’ve compiled a list of who I believe are Iowa’s most valuable commits to this date. Iowa’s Class of 2010 could be a sleeper in terms of strength. Needless to say, many will disagree with the athletes I chose but I stand by my picks.

No. 5: Marcus Coker RB 6’1″/231 lbs. DeMatha High School (Hyattsville, Maryland)

Coker is an all-around running back but he has raw power that reminds one of Shawn Greene. It usually takes more than one defender to tackle him. On the season, Coker is averging 11.2 yards per carry and has 17 touchdowns on 114 carries for 1279 yards. He is on MaxPreps’  watch list for National Player of the Year.

No. 4: James Morris OLB 6’2”/215 lbs. Solon High School (Iowa)

Not many have heard of James Morris but Iowa can wave this native prospect around proudly. He is described as relentless. Head Coach Kirk Ferentz will love his work ethic. If he hadn’t committed to play for Iowa a year ago, he would have been swamped by offers from other major programs.

No. 3: Austin Gray MLB 6’2”/225 lbs. Fitzgerald High School (Warren, Michigan)

Austin Gray is a monster of a linebacker.  There’s no other way to describe it. He is ranked nationally in linebackers on many top recruiting websites and considered as the second best linebacker in the state of Michigan. He gets to the ball fast and hits hard. If there’s one area he may need to work on, however, it’s his pass coverage. Who better to teach him than Hawkeye Defensive Coordinator Norm Parker, who loves to drop linebackers back into coverage. Did I mention this guy is a hard hitting monster? I thought I should emphasize that.

No. 2: A.J. Derby 6’5”/220 lbs. Iowa City High School (Iowa)

Boy, are the Hawkeyes glad they got a hold of this kid. Derby is ranked as the 33rd best quarterback prospect in the nation by iowa.scout.com. Competition for signing Derby included strong programs such as LSU, Florida and Big Ten conference foe Michigan.  Derby is an all-around quarterback. In his junior year, Derby passed for 1,200 yards with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. He showcased his skill on the ground with 1,065 yards and 13 touchdowns. While Derby says he’s a quarterback first, don’t be too surprised if he gets changed to linebacker in college.

No. 1: Andrew Donnal OT 6’7”/290 lbs. Anthony Wayne High School (Whitehouse, Ohio)

The potential for Andrew Donnal appears to be unlimited. He’s got All-American written all over him according to MaxPreps. Scouts.com lists Donnal as the 26th best tackle recruit in the nation. He’s got great speed, footwork and he can get down field better than any big man in the Midwest. Donnal has the frame to become a huge road block for defenders but he’ll have to work on gaining the extra pounds. Donnal is known for playing hard but will have to work on his overall strength. That shouldn’t be a problem. He’ll be in good hands with Iowa.