Ayeni commits to I-State

Iowa State has solidified its defensive line rotation for next season with a commitment from a JUCO strongside end who took his official visit to Ames this weekend.

New Mexico Military Institute's Terry Ayeni was one of three recruits to choose the Cyclones over the weekend, and did so from a pool of three finalists.

"I had narrowed it down to three teams - Iowa State, Northern Illinois and South Florida - and this weekend solidified everything," said the 6-foot-4, 265-pound sophomore. "This place gives me the best opportunity to keep pursing my dreams and make it to the next level. I can't wait to get up there and get started.

"The entire visit was great. The coaching staff was great and I got to meet everybody. I got to hang around the facility and talk to everyone. We spoke in-depth about football, working out and school. We had a two-hour long educational seminar."

Ayeni said some of the highlights were the basketball game Saturday afternoon, and an evening spent at Hickory Park and playing laser tag with his future teammates. He also had the opportunity to spend time with strength and conditioning coach Yancy McKnight.

"The basketball game was real fun and the crowd was crazy," Ayeni said. "I really enjoyed the football facility and spent a lot of time with the strength and conditioning coach, seeing where his head was at. That was big for me. Those were the two main things for me."

Ayeni said he broke the news to an excited head coach Paul Rhoads this morning, shortly before boarding a flight back to New Mexico.

"It was pretty cool having breakfast with all the recruits and Coach Rhoads," Ayeni said. "We had a little talk and I told him how I felt about the whole thing. He was excited and probably more pumped up than anybody else. That was pretty amazing to see. (Committing with two other recruits) is going to be special for a while. All of us are excited to come down, showcase what we've got and work hard."

While ISU is viewing Ayeni as a rotation player at defensive end, the JUCO standout could also fit in as a three-technique in certain packages.

"They ultimately want me to play defensive end and there may be some situations where I would slide down," Ayeni said. "I really enjoyed meeting the defensive coordinator and he's a great guy that really knows his stuff. I can see myself playing well under him."

Ayeni said he'll be hosting ISU assistants Shane Burnham and Louis Ayeni, who he shares a relation to, for an in-home visit on Thursday. The future Cyclone looks forward to finding out more about how he's related to I-State's new running backs coach.

"We didn't really get a chance to figure it out, because everything was happening so fast," Terry Ayeni said. "But we know it's there somewhere, based on the stories we've shared with each other on where we come from."

Ayeni has traveled a long path to become a major-college recruit. He graduated from Central Technical School in Toronto, Ontario, with no Division I offers. He opted to take the 2011-12 academic year off to work and support his family.

He joined New Mexico Military Institute in 2012 and was a breakout performer this past season, recording 50 tackles, 14 tackles-for-loss, 7.5 sacks, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.

After graduating from NMMI, Ayeni said he plans to move to Ames in early June. He will be minoring in Business, but has yet to settle on a major.