Iowa the latest offer for Watkins

Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller running back Keith Watkins has been hot on the recruiting trail in recent weeks, and he continued that trend on Monday with an offer from the Iowa Hawkeyes.

"My coach texted me and told me to give them a call. So I gave them a call, talked to me a little bit. He said the coaching staff had watched my film and really liked what they saw and wanted to offer me a scholarship. I was very surprised because I hadn't talked to them like I had talked to the other schools.

During his call with Iowa assistant coach Brian Ferentz, Watkins was able to learn a little more about the Hawkeyes.

"He gave me a little background information on him," Watkins said. "He said his dad coached there and he went to [Iowa]. He said he just came back because he was coaching with the New England Patriots and now he is coaching offensive linemen. He said he knows the offensive line will block with me and with the running style they use, I'll do well."

Prior to the offer, Watkins said he had heard very little from the Hawkeyes. The offer took him a little by surprise, but he was grateful for the opportunity.

"I'm very excited because I am blessed to receive an offer from any school," Watkins said. "A couple times I have seen Iowa on TV. I didn't pay too much attention to them this last year, but I'm sure as time comes I'll get more information about them."

At this time Watkins does not have a visit set up to Iowa. He has also been looking to visit Illinois, Michigan State and West Virginia, but those have been postponed due to a successful basketball season.

"I'm still in the tournament and we have a game Wednesday night," Watkins said. "If we win that we'll have another game Saturday. If we win Saturday we'll go to State the following weekend. Most likely after that is when I'll try to get to those colleges. I'll talk to my parents and see what schools we can visit and what fits on our schedule."

Watkins starts at the point for Moeller's basketball team, and he dropped 13 points, five assists and three steals in their last game.