Iowa football is once again going back to the Illinois well in the hopes that they can soon earn the signature from yet another recruit in the state.
The Hawkeyes made great progress in the race for Immaculate Conception receiver and defensive back KJ Parker as the athlete announced that he would soon be visiting Iowa City. The first team to issue an offer to the Elmhurst, Ill., native, Iowa is in a fierce battle with fellow midwestern program Cincinnati for Parker’s signature.
Parker had an extremely successful junior season for IC Catholic Prep, earning IHSA 3A All-State Honors. According to MaxPreps, he racked up 1,082 yards and 17 (!) touchdowns on 37 catches. That’s right, almost half of his catches went for touchdowns. And, he averaged almost 30 yards per catch. Parker could certainly be a boost of speed to the Iowa offense. He also intercepted two passes on defense.
Parker was alongside a number of his Immaculate Conception teammates during April to take in the Iowa Hawkeyes’ 2023 Spring Game. Iowa has also offered his teammates Eric Karner and Dominik Hulak. Karner is a four-star tight end in the 2024 class according to the 247Sports composite rankings, while Hulak is a three-star linebacker in the 2025 class per On3.
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Now, Parker announced he is set to visit Iowa City on June 23. Here’s a look at this dynamic playmaker with his Hudl highlights and his full recruiting profile below.
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KJ Parker’s Recruiting Profile
247Sports: 3-star ATH, No. 98 ATH, No. 20 player in Ill.
Rivals: 3-star ATH, No. 64 ATH, No. 14 player in Ill.
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On3: 3-star ATH, No. 79 ATH, No. 29 player in Ill.
Vitals
Hometown
Elmhurst, Ill.
Projected Position
ATH
Height
5’11
Weight
175
Class
2024
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Recruitment
Offered on Dec. 17, 2021
Visiting on June 23-25
Offers
Cincinnati
Iowa State
Marshall
Northern Illinois
Ohio
Old Dominion
Toledo
Western Michigan
Wisconsin
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The Iowa Hawkeyes are coming off of a 35-7 thumping at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes, and while a loss to Ohio State was expected, it was how Iowa lost that has Hawkeyes fans livid.
Iowa’s offense was absolutely lifeless, Cade McNamara looked lost and head coach Kirk Ferentz did not seem to have any answers.
Not only that, but Ferentz doubled down on McNamara remaining the starter after the game, saying that the quarterback actually showed improvement.
That’s why Ferentz’s reputation may actually be on the line when the Hawkeyes face the Washington Huskies this Saturday.
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Iowa is just 3-2 on the season, as it also lost to the Iowa State Cyclones back in Week 2. A loss to Washington would drop the Hawkeyes to .500, and it would add more fuel to the “fire Ferentz” discussion that has been smoldering.
The Huskies are a new addition to the Big Ten and just beat the Michigan Wolverines, and while Michigan has not been as good as expected, Washington is no joke.
However, make no mistake: Iowa needs to beat these guys.
Here is the thing: barring a catastrophic remainder of the 2024 campaign at Iowa City, the Hawkeyes aren’t canning Ferentz. The man is under contract through 2029 on a hefty salary. It isn’t happening.
But Ferentz’s reputation is a different story.
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The 69-year-old has been at the helm for Iowa since 1999 and is highly respected by the fans, but patience is running thin.
Last year, the Hawkeyes played three ranked opponents and lost by a total score of 92-0. They also just got destroyed by Ohio State. The Iowa fan base is tired with being second-best, and at this point, that is all Ferentz has offered them.
Sure, Iowa does not have the cachet or prestige of schools like Ohio State, Michigan or Alabama. It typically won’t land the very best recruits as a result. But the Hawkeyes’ inability to even put together respectable offenses over the years does reflect poorly on Ferentz, who is the longest-tenured coach in the country.
And Iowa fans are sick of it.
The Hawkeyes absolutely need to beat the Huskies this Saturday. Iowa should be better than Washington, and at some point, the Hawkeyes are going to have to display that they can consistently beat good teams.
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Is all of the Ferentz criticism deserved? No, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that all of it is completely unfounded.
Ferentz can provide some nice pushback to all of the naysayers with a Week 7 win over Washington. Or, he can give fans more reason to complain with a loss.
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
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Here’s who all 71 Iowa high school football teams ranked in this week’s Gazette poll face in Week 7 games Friday night.
Class 3A gets the spotlight this week as its top two teams face top-seven opponents. No. 1 Algona visits No. 7 Humboldt, while second-ranked Williamsburg hosts a Solon team eager to bounce back from last week’s loss to Benton Community that dropped it from the top spot.
There is intrigue in the 8-Player top five as well, where three of the top five teams face fellow unbeaten foes. That includes No. 1 Remsen St. Mary’s taking on No. 10 Woodbine and No. 2 Algona Garrigan hosting Ruthven GTRA.
Class 5A
No. 1 West Des Moines Valley (5-1) vs. Waterloo West (5-1)
No. 2 West Des Moines Dowling (5-1) at Urbandale (3-3)
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No. 3 Bettendorf (6-0) at Davenport Central (2-4)
No. 4 Pleasant Valley (5-1) vs. Muscatine (2-4)
No. 5 Ankeny Centennial (4-2) vs. Des Moines Roosevelt (1-5)
No. 6 Linn-Mar (5-1) vs. Davenport West (0-6)
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No. 7 Johnston (4-2) vs. Council Bluffs Lincoln (4-2)
No. 8 Iowa City Liberty (5-1) vs. Ankeny (3-3)
No. 9 Waukee (4-2) at Southeast Polk (3-3)
No. 10 Sioux City East (4-2) vs. Des Moines Lincoln (1-5)
Class 4A
No. 1 Lewis Central (6-0) at Winterset (4-2)
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No. 2 Pella (6-0) at Des Moines Hoover (0-6), Thursday
No. 3 North Polk (6-0) at No. 10 Indianola (4-2)
No. 4 Gilbert (6-0) vs. Bondurant-Farrar (1-5)
No. 5 Decorah (6-0) at Marion (2-4)
No. 6 Adel ADM (5-1) at Ballard (3-3)
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No. 7 Cedar Rapids Xavier (4-2) at Oskaloosa (1-5)
No. 8 North Scott (4-2) at Clear Creek Amana (4-2)
No. 9 Newton (4-2) vs. Carlisle (0-6)
No. 10 Indianola (4-2) vs. No. 3 North Polk (6-0)
No. 10 Western Dubuque (4-2) at Waterloo East (2-4)
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Class 3A
No. 1 Algona (6-0) at No. 7 Humboldt (5-1)
No. 2 Williamsburg (5-1) vs. No. 5 Solon (5-1)
No. 3 Dubuque Wahlert (6-0) at West Delaware (4-2)
No. 4 Sergeant Bluff-Luton (6-0) vs. Carroll (4-2)
No. 5 Mount Vernon (5-1) vs. Fort Madison (0-6)
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No. 5 Solon (5-1) at No. 2 Williamsburg (5-1)
No. 7 Humboldt (5-1) vs. No. 1 Algona (6-0)
No. 8 Sioux City Heelan (4-2) at Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley (1-5)
No. 9 Independence (4-2) at Maquoketa (1-5)
No. 10 Nevada (5-1) at Harlan (3-3)
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Class 2A
No. 1 West Lyon (6-0) at Sheldon (2-4)
No. 2 Monroe PCM (6-0) at West Marshall (5-1)
No. 3 Spirit Lake (5-1) at Garner GHV (1-5)
No. 4 Van Meter (5-1) vs. Centerville (4-2)
No. 5 Carroll Kuemper (5-1) vs. Saydel (1-5)
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No. 6 North Fayette Valley (5-1) vs. Oelwein (0-6) — canceled, Oelwein to forfeit
No. 7 Northeast (6-0) at Tipton (2-4)
No. 8 Central Lyon/George-Little Rock (4-2) vs. No. 10 Western Christian (4-2)
No. 9 Roland-Story (4-2) vs. Des Moines Christian (4-2)
No. 10 Western Christian (4-2) at No. 8 Central Lyon/George-Little Rock (4-2)
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Class 1A
No. 1 Grundy Center (6-0) at Alburnett (4-2)
No. 2 Wilton (6-0) at West Branch (2-4)
No. 3 Dike-New Hartford (5-1) vs. Aplington-Parkersburg (2-4)
No. 4 Emmetsburg (6-0) vs. Eagle Grove (0-6)
No. 5 Iowa City Regina (6-0) at Dyersville Beckman (4-2)
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No. 6 Ida Grove OABCIG (5-1) vs. No. 10 Hinton (5-1)
No. 7 South Hardin (5-1) at Hudson (5-1)
No. 8 Treynor (5-1) vs. Shenandoah (3-3)
No. 9 Sigourney-Keota (5-1) at Colfax-Mingo (1-5)
No. 10 Hinton (5-1) at No. 6 Ida Grove OABCIG (5-1)
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Class A
No. 1 West Hancock (6-0) at Lake Mills (4-2)
No. 2 Guthrie Center ACGC (6-0) vs. Mount Ayr (5-1)
No. 3 Saint Ansgar (5-1) at West Fork (1-5)
No. 4 Lisbon (6-0) vs. Danville (4-2)
No. 5 Earlham (5-1) at Oakland Riverside (4-2)
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No. 6 Tri-Center (5-1) vs. No. 8 Woodbury Central (5-1)
No. 7 Le Mars Gehlen (5-1) at South O’Brien (0-6)
No. 8 Woodbury Central (5-1) at No. 6 Tri-Center (5-1)
No. 9 North Linn (6-0) vs. Maquoketa Valley (5-1)
No. 10 Madrid (4-2) at North Mahaska (3-3)
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8-Player
No. 1 Remsen St. Mary’s (6-0) vs. No. 10 Woodbine (6-0)
No. 2 Algona Garrigan (6-0) vs. Ruthven GTRA (6-0)
No. 3 Don Bosco (6-0) vs. Turkey Valley (3-3)
No. 4 Audubon (6-0) vs. Collins-Maxwell (4-2)
No. 5 Lenox (6-0) vs. Southeast Warren (6-0)
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No. 6 Iowa Valley (6-0) vs. HLV (1-6)
No. 7 Gladbrook-Reinbeck (5-1) at Clarksville (5-2)
No. 8 Anita CAM (5-1) at Fremont-Mills (5-1)
No. 9 Bedford (5-1) vs. Lamoni (4-2)
No. 10 Woodbine (6-0) at No. 1 Remsen St. Mary’s (6-0)
Iowa State women’s basketball star Emily Ryan released a video Thursday in which she discusses her battle with an eating disorder.
Ryan, a senior from Claflin, Kansas, has been one of the Big 12 Conference’s best point guards for the past few seasons. She was a first-team all-conference pick in 2022, and a second-team selection in 2023.
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“By sharing my story, I hope to build awareness and provide hope to everyone else fighting an invisible battle,” Ryan said in the video.
Ryan said her sense of self-worth was dependent on Iowa State’s success and her individual performance. That led to increased time spent in the weight room in an effort to get stronger and faster. When Ryan didn’t see the results that she desired, she began to focus on her diet.
Ryan said the Iowa State medical staff expressed their concern about Ryan’s eating habits and what it was doing to her body. Ryan said she was in “complete denial” about having an eating disorder, but her health continued to worsen.
Ryan missed the first nine games of the 2023-24 season due to the eating disorder. When she returned, she said, “off the court I was really struggling. By the end of the season, I was physically and mentally hanging on by a thread.”
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During the offseason, Ryan spent 88 days at a treatment center in Denver.
“It took a long time but I finally came to the understanding that being sick wasn’t my fault, and eating disorders are real, complex illnesses,” she said.
How to get help
For resources on disordered eating, call the National Eating Disorders Helpline at 800-931-2237 or text NEDA to 741741.