Grinnell’s Will Slagle keeping his D1 football options open

​      Will Slagle, a 4-star offensive lineman recruit from Grinnell, second from left, is shown with his father, Don, Uncle Dean and Joe Montana during a recent visit to Notre Dame. Montana, the great San Francisco 49ers quarterback, played at Notre Dame. Slagle originally committed to play football for the ISU Cyclones, but decommitted after head coach Matt Campbell and Offensive Coach Ryan Clanton and staff left for Penn State. Slagle is keeping his options open and plans to announce where he plans to play in the spring. He has verbal offers from 14 DI schools and several other schools have expressed an interest in the 2027 Grinnell High School graduate.

By J.O. Parker
 
      Grinnell’s Will Slagle is excited about new D1 college football opportunities after the junior committed to the Iowa State University Cyclones on Nov. 22 and then decommitted two weeks later on Dec. 9.
     When asked about his decision to decommit, Slagle said it came on the heels of then Cyclone Head Coach Matt Campbell and Offensive Coach Ryan Clanton and staff departing to Penn State.
     “After a lot of prayer and heartfelt conversations with my parents, coaches, and closest friends, I’ve made the tough decision to decommit from Iowa State,” Slagle said in a Facebook post. “I want to give a special thank you to Coach Matt Campbell and Coach Ryan Clanton for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to be a Cyclone. I truly believe God is opening new doors for me, and I’m trusting His plan for my future. I also want to thank my family and friends for always supporting me through this journey. Iowa State is still a school I’m considering, and I look forward to taking some time to get to know Coach Jimmy Rogers and the new coaching staff before making my final decision. With that being said, I will be fully reopening my recruitment. Thank you again Cyclone Nation.”
       The 6’4” and 300-pound Slagle, a 4-star offensive lineman recruit, has been on the radar of D1 colleges since his sophomore year at Grinnell. 
      Thanks in part goes to J.C. Moreau of Iowa City. Slagle works out with Moreau during the spring months and he helped get his name on the radar.
       “He sent out some of my tapes and got me noticed,” Slagle said in an earlier interview.
Moreau is the founder and sports performance coach and consultant at Strength U, a company that provides sports performance training for youth and high school students. He is the former director of strength and conditioning at the University of Iowa and two other universities.
      In addition to sending out tapes, Slagle has a Twitter account were coaches can watch tape of him playing online.
        On 3, one of several recruiting website companies for high school students, has rated Slagle as a Top 3 recruit in the state of Iowa and number 1 for offensive line. Other recruiting websites that have ranked Slagle include 247 Sports, Rivals and Prep Redzone.
       That ranking has stayed strong in spite of Slagle snapping a bone in his right foot during practice in August, an injury that sidelined him for eight weeks.
        He wore a boot while injured and served as an assistant o-line coach for the Tigers while he healed. He was able to play in  the last three games of his junior campaign at Marion, Newton and Pella.
      Prior to his junior season, Slagle had received verbal commits to play football from Iowa State, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Stanford, Arkansas and Auburn.
       Arizona State, Ohio State, Tennessee and Vanderbilt also expressed an interest in Slagle, but have not given him a verbal offer.
        Slagle has since checked off Auburn as they, like ISU, have a new coach.
       Since his decision to decommit from ISU, Slagle has received verbal offers from Duke and Penn State after reconnecting with his former coach and has also had interest from Michigan State. He also recently visited Notre Dame and had visited Old Miss University in the fall.
      And it is possible that Slagle could recommit to ISU. A lot depends on how he connects with the new head coach Jimmy Rogers and staff.
       “As for my future,” Slagle said. “I plan to go on a few more college visits in the next couple months with plans to make my decision later in the spring.”