Peyton Mansell's work just beginning as recent Iowa commitment
Peyton Mansell is one of the big names included in the Texas-to-Iowa movement that has been one of the major themes in recruiting this year.
The Belton, Texas, quarterback committed following a visit on the weekend before the Hawkeye Tailgater at the end of June. That stretch proved to be very fruitful for Iowa, who landed commitments from fellow Texas products Matt Hankins and Gavin Holmes after that event.
Prior to Mansell’s commitment, four-star running back Eno Benjamin had been an excellent point-man for Iowa’s recruiting efforts in Texas. Now the two represent the future backfield of the Hawkeyes offense.
“He’s a great recruiter, he really knows how to get guys to get up there to take visits,” he said. “I met Eno at a camp and after talking to him, I knew that just handing off to him for the next three-or-four years is just a good situation.”
In his words:
On what the what the deal-breaker in his commitment to Iowa was
“A lot of people say commit to schools not to coaches,” he said. “Coach (Kirk) Ferentz has been there for 18 years, so I don’t think I have to worry about that too much. They have top-notch facilities and I feel like Iowa is a great place for me, and they are recruiting Texas really well.”
On his roll in recruiting as the quarterback in the class
“I’m helping out in spots where Eno asks me to,” he said. “Me and him I feel do a really good job recruiting because we communicate really, really well. So we’re just going to try and get a few more Texas guys for a couple more spots.”
On how he thinks he’ll fit in with the Hawkeyes offense
“I’m not going there to throw the ball 40, 50 times a game like I could someplace else,” he said. “I’m used to an offense where I hand the ball off 20, 30 times a game so I don’t think it should be that big of an adjustment for me.”
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Rivals Reaction: Mansell doesn’t seem to be going anywhere and he feels like most other programs have essentially crossed him off their lists. Now Mansell is readying for the upcoming season and trying to up his level of play so he can contribute as soon as possible.
“I’m just focusing on learning the mental aspect of the game more and then applying that to what I do on the field,” he said. “And my accuracy: Some of these balls I am completing now aren’t going to be completed in a college game.”
Mansell has a lot of the tools desired in a pro-style quarterback and is a nice piece to have in a class that is shaping up to be one of Iowa’s best in years. He said prior to recent four-star commitment Chevin Calloway’s commitment this week that he thought ‘three-or-four’ more commitments could still be coming from Texas, and he’s working on shoring those up.
