UNI Football Adds 16 Players During Early Signing Period
UNI Football is always out on the road recruiting -- midseason, offseason, preseason -- the work never stops.
As their season came to a close a few weeks ago in the FCS Playoffs, the recruiting has been turned up a notch for the coaching staff. Not only for high school juniors and seniors, but through the NCAA transfer portal as well.
Here are the 16 additions the Panthers made to their program on Wednesday, shared via UNI Football's Twitter.
This season, McDaniels racked up 35 tackles, including 14 for a loss and three sacks for the Little Hawks. He also received offers from South Dakota, a barrage of NCAA Division 2 programs, and a Preffered Walk-On offer from Iowa.
A recruit from western Iowa, Schmitt played both sides of the ball for the Raiders. On offense, he carried the ball for 614 yards and six touchdowns on the ground, while also hauling in 19 catches for 364 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, he had the team lead in tackles with 83.5 along with a tackle for a loss and an interception. He also won Defensive MVP for his district. He'll play either linebacker or safety for UNI.
This three-star recfruit from Humboldt had PWOs from Iowa and ISU and offers from Northern Illinois, North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois State, and Fordham. He's 6'7, 270 lbs, and an absolute UNIT. After Spencer Brown was selected in the third round of the NFL Draft last year and Trevor Penning is projected to be taken in the first round this year, it looks like Kuehnast could be next in line.
McClom comes to Cedar Falls from Minnesota with a 4.5 40-yard dash while standing at 6'0 and 185 pounds at the safety position. He earned all-state honors as a defensive back, and was named to the all-metro team twice. McClom also received an offer from Illinois State.
Another addition to the secondary, Box put up 98 tackles his senior year. He also returned punts for East Saint Louis. Though he's listed as a defensive back, Box has the physical tools and athleticism to play all over the field on defense. He received offers from Western Illinois, Temple, Western Michigan, and Missouri State.
Mack is another huge addition for UNI. The three-star DB out of Lees Summit, MO finished 2021 with 72 tackles, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, and nine pass breakups. Originally committed to Kansas, he also received offers from Miami (OH) and UT-Martin, and was recruited by Kansas State, Missouri, Iowa, and Iowa State.
Standing at 6'5 and 220 pounds, McCullough grabbed 55 catches for 935 yards (the 5A leader) and two touchdowns. He also received offers from North Dakota and South Dakota State and was recruited by Iowa, Northern Illinois, and Kansas State.
Another big lineman, Proudfoot stands at 6'7, 240 pounds.He is a First Team All-Conference offensive lineman out of Onalaska, Wisconsin, and earned first team all-conference honors as a defensive end as well. He also received offers from Winona State and Northern State.
After losing quarterbacks Will McElvain and Justin Fomby to the transfer portal, UNI brought in Schecklman. Last season he finished with 1,565 yards passing along with 19 touchdowns. He posted a 70.5% passing percentage and had 721 rushing yards of his own. He recieved offers from a plethora of Divison II schools.
In 2021, Sander ran for 736 yards and three touchdowns and racked up 38.5 tackles over six games for Belmond-Klemme. As a junior, he put up 1282 all-purpose yards & scored 13 touchdowns. He'll play safety, like his brother Korby did, for the Panthers.
Keeping the talent in-state, UNI brings in Galvan who was Iowa's class 2A defensive player of the year and returner of the year. He ran for 1305 yards and 16 touchdowns along with nine grabs for 203 yards and two touchdowns offensively. On defense, he led his team with 67.5 tackles and 7 tackles for a loss. He was recruited nationally, receiving offers from Air Force, Army, Buffalo, Dartmouth, Nebraska, Penn, and South Dakota. He was also recruited by Iowa, Iowa State, Nevada, North Dakota State, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Northern Illinois.
Shockingly, the Panthers add another defensive back. Moko combined for 33 tackles and 2.5 for a loss between his junior and senior seasons. He received offers from Indiana State, North Dakota, and St. Thomas. He was also recruited by Iowa.
Staley finished his senior season with 72 tackles and added three interceptions and two forced fumbles. Recognized as a big time athlete, he also received an offer from Division II powerhouse Northwest Missouri State.
A Floridian, this season Dallas finished with 50 tackles and 14 sacks. He also recovered three fumbles while being named an All-Area selection and All-State nominee. Dallas was recruited as an athlete by UNI, meaning he could play either side of the ball, depending on what they see from him in Cedar Falls.
A three-star recruit out of high school, Bailey played in all 13 games of the 2018 season for Iowa State, primarily on special teams. He registered three tackles. Out of high school he had offers from other schools like Tulane, Louisville, Mississippi State, Arizona, Memphis, and Jackson State. With a defensive line that brings back Caden Houghtelling, Khristian Boyd, and Devin Rice, this quartet will terrorize opposing offenses in 2022.
We have an extensive piece of Washington's decision to join UNI here.
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