Northern Iowa Celebrates FCS Playoff Spot, Lands Two New Recruits

Some people do a jig when they celebrate, others grab a cold drink. Northern Iowa’s coaching staff celebrated its good fortune with its FCS Playoff berth by bringing aboard two more 2016 commitments.

Two Cedar Rapids products decided that UNI was the place to be–and they told HERO Sports they are just now getting to know each other, even though they’re from the same hometown. Defensive back Isaiah Nimmers attends Washington HS and WR Jalen Rima attends Prairie HS. Nimmers is a 5-foot-9, 170-pound speedster at cornerback, and Iowa and Iowa State certainly have checked him out. Rima is a 6-foot-2, 180-pound receiver who the Hawkeyes and Cyclones certainly have noticed too. Rima also held scholarship offers from North Dakota State and Western Illinois, while Nimmers held one from South Dakota.

They are the third and fourth recruits to come aboard. Isaiah Weston is a 6-foot-4 receiver and Elerson Smith is a 6-foot-6, 200-pound defensive end/athlete. Both Weston and Smith are natives of Minnesota and came aboard over the summer.

“I think that outside football and inside of football it feels like a family,” Nimmers told HERO Sports. “They really want you to succeed in life after your time there.”

Rima agreed.

“I love how everybody just treats everybody like family,” Rima told HERO Sports. “When you walk in the building everybody just shows that they want you and they actually like you. They aren’t faking it.”

And how much does this 7-4 UNI playoff team impress the newest two recruits?

“When they played North Dakota State it was a good game and Illinois State they had every opportunity to win the game, and those are some of the top teams in the country,” Nimmers said. “They play the best at the FCS level I think, and compete right there with them.”

Here’s a quick look at the UNI recruiting class for 2016: