Three sign early with Iowa State

Three members of Iowa State's 2012 football recruiting class have signed early, as allowed by rule. Junior college players Cory Morrissey and Clifford Stokes as well as the 2010 high school graduate T.J. Mutcherson were all in position to sign early and enroll for ISU's second semester beginning in January.

Morrissey is a local product who graduated from Gilbert (Iowa) High School this past year. The defensive end attended Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in the fall and was a standout for the Reivers. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound Morrissey recorded 35 tackles in his one season of JUCO ball.

Because he was a full qualifier out of high school, Morrissey does not need to get a two-year degree before being eligible to transfer to a Division I-A program. Morrissey will have three years of eligibility with the Cyclones and said he may redshirt in 2012.

Stokes is a 6-foot-1, 175-pound cornerback from Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas. That is the same JC that produced former ISU standout and current Cleveland Browns starting defensive tackle Tuba Rubin. Whether Stokes can match Rubin's accomplishments remains to be seen, but he'll get a head start on Rubin by being a mid-year transfer.

The Florida native was also offered by Baylor, Houston, Kansas, Minnesota and Western Kentucky.

Mutcherson, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound safety prospect, has been out of football for two seasons since graduating from Tampa (Fla.) Freedom High School in 2010.

He was originally a non-qualifier out of high school, but instead of going the junior college route, trained on his own and made additional attempts to get the ACT test score needed to qualify. The future Cyclone says he now has the necessary test score to go with his high school G.P.A.