by Bill Seals
An unofficial visit to Iowa State one month ago has left a lasting impression on a defensive standout from the east.
Berwick Area (Pa.) rising senior Teagan Wilk got his first look at Ames on May 18th, saying it was an eye-opening experience for someone who had yet to visit the area.
“The Midwest is definitely different from where I’m from,” said Wilk. “I remember waking up from the car ride to Ames and seeing everything. There are no hills at all. It’s definitely a different environment. The campus feel was really nice and has the same feel as a couple other schools.
It’s kind of small, which I like. It’s a really small town where people know who you are and I kind of like that. Even going out to eat after the visit, it’s definitely a different group of people than I’m around in my hometown. That’s not going to change any decision that I’m going to be making and whether I go there or another school.”
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Wilk is one of the Cyclones’ top targets at a position that’s been given a lot of emphasis for 2020. The three-star recruit has been assigned a 5.6 Rivals rating and is the seventh overall prospect in Pennsylvania.
Wilk’s lone Power-5 offer to date is from ISU, but the safety has several from the G5 ranks. One of those schools is East Carolina, which hosted Wilk on an official visit over the weekend. The Cyclones and ECU are in Wilk’s top-six, which was released last week and also included Old Dominion, Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio) and UMass.
As Wilk reflected back on his May visit, he said everyone on the football program made lasting impressions.
“They’re still one of my top schools and were obviously in my top-six,” Wilk said. “The visit was great and probably my longest visit of any single place I’ve gone to. It was really nice and matched any other school. The coaching staff and players…they’re genuine people and it’s not that way at some other schools.”
During the course of his visit, Wilk said he was sold on the opportunities he could have in the Cyclones’ secondary.
“(Coach D.K. McDonald and I) sat down and talked for a little while,” he said. “Even from that visit on, we’ve talked pretty much every single day. I talk to Coach (Matt) Caponi and Coach (Matt) Campbell frequently. We’ve talked about the safety position and the other positions. They said I could play any of the three safety spots and that’s a big part of my recruitment. I’d have a great opportunity at Iowa State.”
The Pennsylvania rising senior had been planning to be back in Ames over the weekend, but said that got put on hold until later in the summer.
“I’ll be taking an official visit to East Carolina this weekend,” Wilk said. “I was supposed to do Iowa State this weekend, but I canceled. Coach Campbell and Coach (Derek) Hoodjer really want my mom to come out. They know how much I like them and they know where I stand with them. They want to make sure my mom comes out for my official visit. We’re probably going to do an official in August.”
An unofficial visit to Iowa State one month ago has left a lasting impression on a defensive standout from the east.
Berwick Area (Pa.) rising senior Teagan Wilk got his first look at Ames on May 18th, saying it was an eye-opening experience for someone who had yet to visit the area.
“The Midwest is definitely different from where I’m from,” said Wilk. “I remember waking up from the car ride to Ames and seeing everything. There are no hills at all. It’s definitely a different environment. The campus feel was really nice and has the same feel as a couple other schools.
It’s kind of small, which I like. It’s a really small town where people know who you are and I kind of like that. Even going out to eat after the visit, it’s definitely a different group of people than I’m around in my hometown. That’s not going to change any decision that I’m going to be making and whether I go there or another school.”
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Wilk is one of the Cyclones’ top targets at a position that’s been given a lot of emphasis for 2020. The three-star recruit has been assigned a 5.6 Rivals rating and is the seventh overall prospect in Pennsylvania.
Wilk’s lone Power-5 offer to date is from ISU, but the safety has several from the G5 ranks. One of those schools is East Carolina, which hosted Wilk on an official visit over the weekend. The Cyclones and ECU are in Wilk’s top-six, which was released last week and also included Old Dominion, Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio) and UMass.
As Wilk reflected back on his May visit, he said everyone on the football program made lasting impressions.
“They’re still one of my top schools and were obviously in my top-six,” Wilk said. “The visit was great and probably my longest visit of any single place I’ve gone to. It was really nice and matched any other school. The coaching staff and players…they’re genuine people and it’s not that way at some other schools.”
During the course of his visit, Wilk said he was sold on the opportunities he could have in the Cyclones’ secondary.
“(Coach D.K. McDonald and I) sat down and talked for a little while,” he said. “Even from that visit on, we’ve talked pretty much every single day. I talk to Coach (Matt) Caponi and Coach (Matt) Campbell frequently. We’ve talked about the safety position and the other positions. They said I could play any of the three safety spots and that’s a big part of my recruitment. I’d have a great opportunity at Iowa State.”
The Pennsylvania rising senior had been planning to be back in Ames over the weekend, but said that got put on hold until later in the summer.
“I’ll be taking an official visit to East Carolina this weekend,” Wilk said. “I was supposed to do Iowa State this weekend, but I canceled. Coach Campbell and Coach (Derek) Hoodjer really want my mom to come out. They know how much I like them and they know where I stand with them. They want to make sure my mom comes out for my official visit. We’re probably going to do an official in August.”
