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football Edit

Iowa State signs 18 for 2012 class

Iowa State had its most by-the-book football national signing day of the past decade on Wednesday, adding official commitments from 18 prospects to go along with three already on campus as mid-year guys.
The total 2012 recruiting class of just 21 players is also the smallest of the last ten years for ISU, but that isn't a bad thing. The Cyclones had a small senior class in 2011 and therefore look to return well over 60 scholarship veterans for next season.
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The final national letter-of-intent to arrive came from the Cyclones' only California recruit in the class, Grant Rohach. Prospects can only sign after 7 a.m. local time so Rohach's letter arrived in the ISU football offices via fax at shortly after 9 central time. The morning had started with eastern time zone letters rolling in shortly after 6 a.m. in Ames.
There were really no known verbal commitments to Iowa State that were in danger of signing elsewhere come this morning. Dallas (Tex.) Wilmer-Hutchins athlete Damien Lawry had taken an official visit to Missouri after visiting and committing to ISU, but he signed with the Cyclones. And Bradenton (Fla.) Manatee linebacker Darius White signed with Iowa State after receiving a late offer from Miami.
Two prospects that ISU had hoped to snare in the final days of the recruiting year signed elsewhere. Four-star wide receiver D'Vario Montgomery, who visited Ames last weekend, stuck with his verbal commitment and signed with South Florida. And cornerback Gary Simon signed with Oklahoma from a final top three of ISU, Arkansas and the Sooners.
It was a good year for in-state recruiting for the Cyclones as they nabbed several of Iowa's top ten prospects. The in-state recruiting haul included Creston defensive end Collin Bevins, Perry linebacker Kane Seeley, Ankeny kicker Cole Netten and Iowa City athlete Charles Rogers. Previously, Iowa Western Community College and Gilbert native Cory Morrissey, a defensive end, signed with ISU in December and enrolled for classes in January.
The Cyclones furthered bolstered the defensive line by signing defensive end Pierre Aka from Indianapolis (Ind.) and defensive tackles Mitchell Meyers of The Woodlands (Tex.) and Devlyn Cousin from Kingsland (Ga.)
Iowa State's offensive line ranks grew by only three with the 2012 recruiting class, due in large part to the returning talent in the pipeline. ISU's new projected offensive linemen as of Wednesday are Duaron Williams of Orlando (Fla.), Daniel Burton from Oklahoma City (Okla.) and Jacob Dunning of Leander (Tex.)
The one "legacy" in the class is Lee's Summit (Mo.) athlete Luke Knott, brother of senior-to-be linebacker Jake Knott. The younger Knott played quarterback in high school but projects as a safety for Iowa State. Other defensive additions for ISU in its 2012 class include Tempe (Ariz.) linebacker Adam Pavlenko and previously enrolled defensive backs T.J. Mutcherson and Clifford Stokes.
And I-State loaded up on wide receivers in its 2012 class, signing three in Dondre Daley of Tarpon Springs (Fla.), Patrick Harris of Groveland (Fla.) and Quan West from Willis (Tex.) West is the highest-rated prospect in ISU's 2012 class according to the Rivals.com evaluation system. He is a 5.7 rated prospect who is ranked as the no. 70 wide receiver in the country.
The 5.6 rated prospects in the Cyclones' 2012 class are Harris (WR), Lawry (ATH), Pavlenko (LB), Rohach (QB), White (LB) and Williams (OL).
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