Southeast Polk safety Xavier Nwankpa includes Iowa in his top 7 schools
Matthew BainSoutheast Polk safety Xavier Nwankpa is a step closer to finding his college home.
The Register's No. 1 in-state 2022 prospect and a consensus four-star, top-100 national talent, Nwankpa announced his top seven schools Saturday: Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Iowa, LSU, Clemson and Arizona State.
Nwankpa currently has official visits scheduled to Ohio State (June 4-6), Texas A&M (June 11-13) and Notre Dame (June 18-20). He has also taken self-guided visits to Texas A&M in March and to Iowa for its second open spring practice on Saturday. If he chooses to, he can take up to two more official visits.
A freak athlete in a 6-foot-2 frame that could play anywhere in the secondary, Nwankpa has blossomed into a national must-have since August, when an offer from Oklahoma put Nwankpa on the map for powerhouse programs. By March, after an excellent junior season that earned Nwankpa All-Iowa Elite Team honors, he had added offers from the likes of Florida, Texas, Ohio State, LSU, Clemson, Texas A&M, USC, Oregon, Alabama and Georgia.
Obviously, Iowa and Iowa State were among the first schools involved. The Cyclones gave Nwankpa his second offer in July after his freshman season at Southeast Polk. Iowa then joined the party with an offer during a game-day visit in October. They have both actively recruited Nwankpa ever since.
Iowa State was on Nwankpa's list of his top 12 schools in January.
Matthew Bain covers recruiting and pretty much anything else under the sports sun for the Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Network. Contact him at mbain@dmreg.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewBain_.