Iowa City Press-Citizen – The Iowa Hawkeyes picked up Ohio safety Anthony Hitchens who waited and waited and waited for an offer from Iowa. There’s no longer a void at safety after David Cato announced his transfer. See, it all works out in the end.

Rivals — No need to worry Hawkeye fans, Marcus Coker is still planning on signing with the Hawkeyes.

Here’s what Coker says about himself according to Scout.com:

“I can run downhill. I don’t waste movements and have football smarts. I’m a big bruising back and play with a lot of power.

“I want to improve my agility. And make people miss more.”

That sounds exactly like the kind of back that will fit right in at Iowa.

Rivals — Linn Mar’s (Marion, Iowa) David Parry enjoyed an Iowa visit this weekend. He has an offer to walk on. Perry’s is also highly interested in Stanford University, according to Rivals.

Rivals — While the Hawkeyes may be out of the running for Seantrel Henderson, his former teammate QB Mark Alt returned home from an offical visit to Iowa with a scholarship offer. Alt previously committed to Minnesota to play hockey. He is a one-star QB, according to Scout.

Scout — Ohio native TE Ray Hamilton is a big guy at 6-foot-5 220 pounds. He is a three-star recruit according to Scout. And he now holds an offer from Iowa for 2011.

Scout — Ellis Jordan and John Chelf have decided to walk-on at Iowa to join their former Iowa City High teammate A.J. Derby. The two were key players in Iowa City High’s 2009 4A State Championship team.

Jordan is a running back who passed up numerous Division II offers and Chelf a wide receiver who passed up an offer from Minnesota State and the opportunity to walk on at Iowa State to join the Hawkeyes.

You know who else was a walk-on at Iowa and also an Iowa native? Dallas Clark. He’s playing for his second Super Bowl Ring with the Colts.

The Iowa Hawkeyes aren’t lacking talent at the running back position.

With the commitment of DeMatha High School’s (Hyattsville, MD) Marcus Coker, Iowa’s backfield has only gotten stronger. The 6-foot-1, 231 pound back is a leader of the pack for MaxPreps’ National Player of the Year Award.

Coker’s strengths include the ability to reach top speed in the blink of an eye, raw strength, soft hands and he’s even a good blocker. Coker is clearly an all-around back.

On the season, Coker has carried the ball 114 times for 1279 yards and 17 touchdowns. He suffered a scare last week against St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) when he pulled a groin but he isn’t expected to miss any time.

So, what can the Hawkeyes expect out of Marcus Coker?

On paper, Marcus Coker appears to be one of the most highly touted running back recruits for Iowa to pick up in some time.

Watch a video on Coker and it’s easy to draw comparisons to another recent Iowa star by the name of Greene.

It will be interesting to see how Coker develops and how soon he sees the field, considering he is behind several other capable backs.

Perhaps a redshirt is in order?

Take a look at what number 34 can do: