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FOOTBALL RECRUITING: King’s Embry commits to Iowa, as Hawkeyes’ nab another in-state rising-star
DETROIT – It must be something in the cornfields because the University of Iowa continues to come into Metro Detroit and scoop up elite prep football talent.
Over the weekend, the Hawkeyes gained the future services of one of the state’s top high school players, Detroit King senior defensive back-wide receiver Jalen Embry, swiping the 5-foot-11, 180-pound dual-threat playmaker off the board on Sunday.
Embry is the seventh top recruit from Southeastern Michigan to commit to Iowa since 2010 and chose the Hawkeyes over more than a dozen additional Division I college scholarships, including ones spawning from other BCS programs Wisconsin, Illinois and Cincinnati.
He is the 15th commitment to Iowa’s 2014 recruiting class and the second player from the 2013 King squad to accept an offer from a BCS school, following in the footsteps of fellow defensive back-wide receiver Avonte Maddox, who committed to Pittsburgh in the offseason.
Maddox and Embry have King off to a scorching-hot 5-0 start this fall. Back on Friday, the Crusaders clobbered Detroit Douglas 58-0 in a game where Embry caught six passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns and on defense had a pair of pass-deflections.
As sophomores, Maddox and Embry helped spark King on a run into the Division 2 final four in 2011.
Embry’s future in an Iowa uniform could be on either side of the ball with the type of versatility he brings to the table, although most scouts project that he will land in the secondary. His diverse skill-set will probably be used in special teams with the Hawkeyes, too, considering his nose for the big-play on kickoff and punt returns at the prep level.
Iowa is currently 4-2 after losing a heartbreaker against Michigan State to open league-action Saturday afternoon. The Hawkeyes carry six players from the Mitten on their roster, with two holding down starting roles; wide receiver-return specialist Kevonte Martin-Manley out of Birmingham Brother Rice and defensive lineman Desmond King out of Detroit East English Village Prep.
In other in-state college football recruiting news from the BCS ranks, Berrien Springs’ defensive end Jhonny Williams committed to the University of Missouri.
