North Scott DE Zach Petersen's hectic, late-blooming recruitment includes Iowa, Iowa State

North Scott head coach Kevin Tippett discussed recruiting with his star senior defensive end, Zach Petersen, about midway through the Lancers’ 10-2 football season. At that point, he had zero offers to play in college.

"'Keep doing the right things,'" Tippett remembers telling him. "'You’re doing the right things. People will figure it out eventually.'"

But would they? Petersen still had no offers by season's end. None of it made sense, Tippett thought.

Petersen had the frame — 6-foot-4, 225 pounds and plenty of room for more.

He had the film — Iowa recruit John Waggoner is the state’s top defensive end prospect, but Petersen probably had the best senior tape.

He’d done all the right things — excelled in summer camps at Iowa and Iowa State, qualified for state in wrestling, racked up 16 solo tackles for loss and 10 solo sacks as a senior, made the Register’s All-Iowa Elite Team.

Still, barely a peep. Northern Illinois showed interest, but backed off when its needs at the spot were filled.

Then ... something bonkers happened, even by the recruiting world’s standards. Petersen’s stock exploded.

He racked up five Power 5 offers in four weeks, earned three stars from Rivals and 247Sports and transformed from an unknown prospect to a major Midwest must-have. The 247Sports composite now ranks him as the state’s No. 7 2018 prospect.

Only Division II programs Lindenwood and Minnesota State-Mankato had offered as of Nov. 13. Now, Iowa, Iowa State, Illinois, Nebraska and Kansas State all want Petersen.

"(That’s) just extremely rare these days," said Rivals Midwest recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt, who’s been in the business for nearly 15 years. "To have a guy who makes a big stride in his senior year really isn't all that unique or rare. It’s just rare that it then translates into a guy coming from completely off the radar into several Power 5 offers."

It often takes only one top-tier offer to begin the snowball effect for a prospect. That school was Illinois, which offered Petersen Nov. 14 during an unofficial visit.

Kansas State then invited him for a visit and offered Nov. 25. Iowa State visited him at his house Dec. 6 and offered. Nebraska drove to North Scott High the next day and offered Petersen. And on Dec. 8, Brian Ferentz gave him a Hawkeye offer.

Allen Trieu, 247Sports' Midwest recruiting analyst, compares Petersen’s surge to that of Robert Windsor, a late-blooming 2015 defensive end from Wisconsin who wound up picking Penn State.

"Some kids just catch on later," Trieu said. "He did do a handful of camps, but not a ton. He is at a school that has not had a ton of prospects. And I think in Iowa, if Iowa and Iowa State have not offered you, sometimes it is hard to get noticed.

"I watched his junior film, just to see if there was a big leap, but the junior film was pretty good, too. Without having followed him much until recently, it looks like a kid who was just truly under the radar waiting to be discovered — I did not see a clear reason behind it."

Petersen certainly has the mesaurables you're looking for. Beyond that build, he also has a 4.9-second 40-yard dash time and can squat 485 pounds, according to his Hudl profile.

Where does his recruitment stand with each school?

Petersen and his dad, former Iowa State nose tackle Troy Petersen, responded to several Twitter direct messages from the Register regarding Zach's recruitment. But not to any requesting comment for this story. Tippett said this past month has been quite hectic and stressful for Zach Petersen as he tries to sift through this rapid interest and make the best decision for him.

So, with the information we do have, here's what Petersen's recruitment stands with each of his suitors:

Illinois

Lovie Smith and the Illini have been "all-in" on Petersen since offering in November, Tippett said.

They’ve had two in-home visits and an unofficial. They watched his wrestling meet in Muscatine last week. They hosted him for his first official visit Dec. 3. And their school boasts one of the country’s best agriculture colleges — an important factor for Petersen.

Plus, Illinois doesn’t currently have a defensive end recruit in its 2018 class.

Iowa

Tippett said offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz has been a regular recruiting presence since last spring, and he was the one who extended the offer to Petersen.

That raises a logical question: Since Brian Ferentz is recruiting Petersen, does Iowa see him as an offensive lineman? Especially since it was thought they were done recruiting 2018 defensive ends even before landing Waggoner?

"I think he’d be a heck of an offensive lineman," Tippett said. "But he’s being actively recruited as a defensive lineman across the board, I believe."

Chatter around Petersen’s recruitment suggests Iowa’s lack of an agriculture program hurts.

Brian Ferentz invited Petersen for an official visit Dec. 8-10. But Petersen wound up visiting Iowa Sate, which had offered at that point. Iowa has visited Petersen in his home, too.

Kansas State

Like Illinois, Kansas State has had a heavy presence since it offered, Tippett said. 

Petersen will take his third official visit to Manhattan this coming weekend. He previously took an unofficial visit when he received the offer in late November.

The Wildcats have visited Petersen at school and at home. Their school has a strong agriculture college, but they do already have two defensive end recruits for this class.

Iowa State

As mentioned earlier, Petersen’s dad played for the Cyclones in the early 1990s, so there are some ties here. Iowa State’s offer is only a grayshirt, however.

He took an official visit to Ames this past weekend. Iowa State also boasts a top-tier agriculture college.

The Cyclones visited Petersen in his home, and it’s been reported that Matt Campbell and his staff will watch Petersen wrestle this Friday at the Battle of Waterloo before he heads to Kansas State for his official visit.

Nebraska

The Huskers were the last team to enter the sweepstakes. He took an unofficial visit to Nebraska on Nov. 27.

Scott Frost was officially hired Dec. 2. Five days later, offensive analyst Frank Verducci was at North Scott High to offer Petersen. So, he was clearly one of Frost's first 2018 targets.

Nebraska has a strong agriculture college, too.

Matthew Bain covers college football and basketball recruiting for the Des Moines Register. He also helps out with Iowa and Iowa State football and basketball coverage for HawkCentral and Cyclone Insider. Contact him at mbain@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewBain_.