Recruiting Mailbag: Was Iowa in the mix for Andrew DePaepe? AJ Green, Corey Phillips, 2023 football offers in Iowa

Hello, friends. Welcome, once again, to the Recruiting Mailbag.

Some news happened Wednesday night. Southeast Polk five-star offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor, a consensus top-10 national recruit in the 2023 class and main focus of our Recruiting Mailbag last week, unveiled his top seven schools.

They are: Notre Dame, Penn State, Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan and Oregon.

Those seven were among the 17 schools that flocked to Pleasant Hill, Iowa, in January to visit the 6-foot-8, 335-pounder. Iowa State was also a consistent presence with Proctor last month, so it is a bit surprising the Cyclones aren't on the list.

But tough decisions have to be made in recruiting, and the Hawkeyes are squarely in the mix here. Proctor would be their highest-ranked recruit in program history ... one year after signing their previous highest-ranked recruit in program history, five-star safety Xavier Nwankpa, who, yes, was high school teammates with Proctor.

MORE: What Xavier Nwankpa's Iowa commitment means for Kadyn Proctor

There really aren't any odds-on favorite right now for Proctor. This spring, summer and potentially even fall should be fun as the mega-recruit takes his visits and narrows down his list even further.

For now, let's get to this week's questions.

Did Iowa miss on Pleasant Valley defensive end Andrew DePaepe?

In case you missed it: Pleasant Valley four-star defensive end Andrew DePaepe, our No. 2 in-state 2023 prospect and a top-200 national talent, committed to Michigan State on Feb. 2 following a visit to East Lansing.

As for Iowa's place in this recruitment ... it's hard to say a school "missed" on a target that didn't really consider that school in the first place.

Kirk Ferentz and his staff obviously liked DePaepe, the 6-foot-5, 245-pound native of Bettendorf, which is about an hour drive from Iowa City. The Hawkeyes gave him his third offer back in February 2021.

But DePaepe wanted to play his college football outside Iowa, and he didn't exactly hide that from coaches. (Although he did visit Iowa for the Penn State game this season. Who can blame him for accepting that free ticket?) He told me his other finalist schools were Nebraska, Missouri and Penn State.

"(Iowa's) whole thing trying to get me was that the best players in Iowa stayed in Iowa, but I wasn't really going for that," DePaepe told me. "And I think they kind of realized that I didn't want to stay in-state. I think they stopped recruiting me probably a couple months ago. They all unfollowed me."

More: A look at Iowa State football's top 12 targets for the 2023 recruiting class

Iowa State offered the same day as Iowa, Feb. 17, 2021, but DePaepe told me he never really formed a relationship with the Cyclones' coaches.

He didn't grow up rooting for Iowa or Iowa State. His mom is from Wisconsin and his family is full of Badgers fans, so he grew up dreaming of playing football up in Madison. Perhaps that had something to do with him not caring to play for the Hawkeyes or Cyclones, DePaepe said. But also ...

"It was me just kind of wanting to leave home," he said. "Not too far, but kind of get out of state."

DePaepe's visits included Washington, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri, and he was planning a Penn State visit before his trip to Michigan State the final weekend of January. He said he didn't have committing to the Spartans anywhere on his mind entering the visit, which included a front-row seat to the Michigan State men's basketball team beating Michigan 83-67 at the Breslin Center.

But the visit just went so well, DePaepe said, that he realized he wanted to commit after the basketball game. He said it helped that head coach Mel Tucker signed a 10-year contract extension in the offseason.

"I was looking for a program where I went there and I didn't have to worry about losing one of my favorite coaches or the head coach leaving and there's a whole new staff coming in," DePaepe said. "So that definitely played a big role."

DePaepe is the first Iowan to commit to Michigan State since Valley quarterback Rocky Lombardi picked the Spartans in the 2017 class. He played in 17 games over three seasons at Michigan State before transferring and leading Northern Illinois to a Mid-American Conference championship this past fall.

- Matthew Bain

What's the latest with Ames tight end Corey Phillips? Has he signed anywhere?

Corey Phillips came into his senior season with offers from Northern Iowa, Kansas and UCF, although the latter two schools have changed coaching staffs since he was offered. The 6-5 tight end out of Ames also picked up a recent offer from Grand View University. The Vikings did just make it to the NAIA national championship, so that could be an attractive option.

Frankly, I’m not sure how Phillips hasn’t gotten more Division I interest. The three-star tight end and our No. 16 in-state 2022 prospect has good size to compete at the college level, and that, coupled with his speed, make him a tough target to bring down.

But he’s also really talented on the basketball court. He’s been an instrumental part of helping top-ranked Ames to a 16-1 record this season. With the lack of options to play college football, Phillips did tell me college basketball is “heavily considered” right now. DMACC has shown some interest in Phillips for basketball, and we’ve seen some good players go through that program.

Right now he’s weighing all his options, and taking his time during basketball season to see what fits best.

- Alyssa Hertel

Is there even a small chance that AJ Green transfers from Northern Iowa to Iowa State for his final college season?

Let's just say I would be shocked if this happened.

This was a topic when Kyle Green, AJ's father, got hired away from Northern Iowa to join T.J. Otzelberger's Iowa State staff. Green transferring to play for his dad in Ames wasn't close to happening then, and I'm under the impression it's the same case now.

Think about it: What would be the point? If Green wants to return another year instead of turning pro, wouldn't he return to the program where he's literally been given the keys to the offense the past four years? The place where he's going to be the guy game in and game out, and thus help his draft stock?

More: AJ Green scores 24 points to lift Northern Iowa over Southern Illinois 53-44

Why would he transfer somewhere a current freshman point guard already has the keys to the offense? And after selling Tyrese Hunter on the idea of becoming the face of Iowa State basketball to keep him signed after Steven Prohm was fired, Otzelberger isn't going to then bring in another star point guard who needs the ball in his hands.

I understand the thought behind asking the question. I get it. Green would be a heck of a high-major point guard. To this day, I'm still not sure I've seen an Iowa high school prospect look as college-ready as he did.

- Matthew Bain

Which in-state 2023 football prospects are having the biggest winters?

With most of the 2022 class signed to a college football program or already on campus (looking at you, Xavier Nwankpa), it’s time to check in on how some of Iowa’s top junior football players are doing. Let me walk you through which players have reeled in some big offers since the end of the season.

Ankeny quarterback JJ Kohl and Des Moines Roosevelt athlete Jamison Patton have each picked up five offers this winter. Kohl, our No. 3 in-state 2023 prospect, added Minnesota, Boston College, Penn State, Indiana and Pitt to his growing list of schools. Patton, our No. 7 in-state 2023 prospect, also got an offer from Minnesota, as well as Missouri, Washington, South Dakota and Kansas State.

MORE: How JJ Kohl has rapidly emerged as a must-have Midwestern recruit

One recruit that has really exploded on the scene since the end of the season is Carson Rhodes, who checked in at No. 24 in our most recent 2023 rankings. The 6-7 tight end out of Nevada picked up an offer from Division II Augustana in mid-November, and then things went a little quiet. Well, not anymore. Since the first week of December, Rhodes has pulled in offers from Northern Iowa, Illinois State, Kent State, South Dakota and Iowa State. He’ll definitely be a name to watch come next season.

Urbandale receiver/tight end Kai Black, No. 4 in our rankings, and North Scott defensive tackle David Borchers, No. 11 in our rankings, have each pulled in three offers. Vanderbilt, Minnesota and Miami (Ohio) all offered Black in the offseason. Marion athlete Alex Mota, our No. 5 in-state 2023 talent, also received an offer from Miami (Ohio). Borchers picked up offers from South Dakota, Southern Illinois and Western Illinois. They are two players that I expect to pick up even more opportunities this spring.

MORE: Meet Urbandale's Kai Black, elite football talent and modern Renaissance man

Let’s talk about South Dakota, because that state had a busy couple of weeks recruiting in Iowa. Harlan athlete Aidan Hall, No. 13 in our rankings, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn athlete Kooper Ebel, No. 15 in our rankings, and Central Lyon athlete Zach Lutmer, No. 23 in our rankings, were all offered by both South Dakota and South Dakota State. Humboldt defensive end Tayeton Lohaus, our No. 19 prospect, received his first D-I offer from South Dakota on Feb. 6.

Waverly-Shell Rock linebacker Asa Newsom, our No. 9 prospect, on Wednesday added an offer from Stanford, which is one of the hardest offers to receive in the country, given the program's high athletic and academic standards.

And there’s one more player to pay attention to. Ebel’s teammate from Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn, defensive end Lance Berends, not rated in our latest rankings, picked up his first D-I offer from Western Illinois this week.

- Alyssa Hertel

Will Iowa State target any big men in the transfer portal?

Would be surprised if it didn't.

The Cyclones have established a pretty clear set of high school targets in the 2023 class, including but not limited to five-star Missouri forward (formerly of Iowa) Omaha Biliew, three-star Chicagloland guard Cam Christie, four-star Milwaukee forward Milan Momcilovic, three-star Ohio wing Devin Royal and three-star Illinois wing Ty Pence, who all visited Ames in December either officially or unofficially. Biliew is planning to announce his top five schools Feb. 14, and Iowa State is expected to make the cut.

But expect this staff to also be active in the transfer portal this offseason. Iowa State didn't just collect frequent flyer miles in the portal this past offseason because it needed to rapidly rebuild its roster; recruiting transfers is going to be an ongoing strategy. This staff wants to build for the future, and also win now.

So, big men? Yes, big men. Iowa State could use a jolt of offensive production inside, and there will be plenty of targets who could do that once the portal floods with names again in a few months. - Matthew Bain

Alyssa Hertel is a college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.

Matthew Bain is the deputy sports editor for the Des Moines Register. He still covers some recruiting, too. Contact him at mbain@dmreg.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewBain_.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Was Iowa football recruiting Andrew DePaepe? AJ Green to Iowa State?