Jaziun Patterson (RB) Commits to Iowa
On Tuesday night, the Hawkeyes landed one of their best recruits at running back in the Kirk Ferentz era. Jaziun Patterson from Deerfield Beach, Florida he put on the black and gold hat and committed to Iowa over the likes of Florida State and Alabama. Patterson is a 3-star running back according to 247Sports with a 0.8815 composite ranking. He comes in as the number 34 running back in the class of 2022. Other recruiting sites including Rivals even list him as a 4-star. Regardless of his rating, this commitment is a big statement from Iowa City.
After a July 24th unofficial recruiting visit to Iowa, Patterson’s intrigue grew in the program. He wasn’t initially interested in the Hawkeyes, but after his visit and a trip to South Florida by first-year Iowa running backs coach Ladell Betts, Patterson had his eyes set.
In a post-commitment interview with 247Sports, Patterson said, “I feel like they wanted me the most and I feel like they have interest in me as both a player and a person. So, I just like the family atmosphere there.” He and head coach Kirk Ferentz had several one-on-one conversations leading up to his commitment where they talked not only about football, but life after football and how Patterson can develop as an individual while at Iowa.
Patterson had some big-name schools with offers, but Iowa proved to be the best fit. At the end of the day, it came down to the communication he continually received from the staff at Iowa, even after his offer. He said Iowa kept showing him a lot of love since the date of the offer. In an interview following his commitment, he said, “The communication at Iowa was different from [other schools]…I was texting different coaches, Coach Ferentz and Coach Ladell Betts every day.” The Hawkeyes truly wanted to land this guy, and he’ll be a key addition to the 2022 class.
Patterson is 5’-10” and 190 pounds at the running back position. He’ll play in his senior season at Deerfield Beach High School this Fall in South Florida.
Impact on Future Recruiting
The traditional pattern of Iowa recruiting typically falls within the midwest. However, they’ve been able to periodically capture talent from around the country. Notably, current running back and former 3-star Tyler Goodson who is from Suwanee, Georgia. It’s a big statement in the recruiting department that Iowa can go to South Florida and a player like Patterson. In an area that typically produces SEC talent, Betts was able to elevate Iowa’s reputation with his recruiting abilities.
The Hawkeyes have had recent talent in their running back room including Goodson and Mekhi Sargent. Landing Patterson continues the upward trend at the position. This trend could lead to bigger things for recruiting at Iowa in general. With talent coming in at running back, other position groups likely follow. Iowa is known for molding 3-star guys into skilled college players and future NFL athletes. But, an increase in talent acquisition through recruiting can bring greater heights to their developmental process. If Iowa can add top talent in addition to their bread-and-butter recruits, there will likely be an uptick in production on the field.
In college football, there are two areas in which a program builds success: recruiting and developing. Iowa has shown how they can consistently develop good players into great players. Now, they are taking that next step in the recruiting game. With Patterson making his commitment to Iowa, the Hawkeye program continues in the right direction.
