Solon lineman Tyler Linderbaum Commits to Iowa
By Pat Harty
Your Prep Sports
For the second year in a row, the Iowa football team has landed a player from Solon.
Three-star defensive lineman Tyler Linderbaum announced his commitment to Iowa via Twitter on Monday. He is the fifth player to join Iowa’s 2018 recruiting class and the second from Solon to pick the Hawkeyes in as many years.
“After my last visit with them I just felt that it was the right time and I knew Iowa was the place I wanted to go,” Linderbaum said. “That was the place I felt more comfortable at.”
Linderbaum’s commitment comes exactly three months after Solon senior tight end Jacob Coons signed a letter of intent with Iowa on Feb. 1. Coons will be a freshman at Iowa this fall.
Solon native Marshall Koehn also was Iowa's starting kicker in 2014, while fellow Solon native James Morris started at linebacker for the Hawkeyes for four seasons from 2010-13.
Another Solon native, junior offensive lineman Dalton Ferguson, is on Iowa's current roster, but he missed most of spring practice after injuring his knee.
“We’ve obviously had a plethora of talent here in Solon and he’s your throwback player, just as tough as they come,” Solon coach Kevin Miller said of Linderbaum. “He had a great junior year. He was clearly a dominant force on the line. There was no doubt about it. He was unblockable. And at center, he imposed his will on people, and on both sides of the ball for that matter.”
Linderbaum was second on the team with 42.5 tackles last season while helping Solon to a 9-2 record and a spot in the Class 3A quarterfinals.
The 6-foot-2, 255-pound Linderbaum tied for the team lead with seven tackles for loss, had three sacks and returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown.
“He’s an athlete playing defensive line and center for us,” Miller said of Linderbaum. “He really is. He moves exceptionally well for a kid his size. Very explosive and just very sound from a fundamental standpoint. He epitomizes what a football player is in my opinion.”
A starter in four varsity sports since his sophomore year Linderbaum’s versatility stretches beyond the football field.
In his second season of wrestling this winter, Linderbaum posted a 53-10 record and finished 5th at the Class 2A state meet helping Solon win its first team title in program history.
Linderbaum hit .298, with 13 doubles, 34 runs and a team-high 32 RBI last year as a first baseman for Solon’s state semifinal baseball team.
He was a Drake Relays qualifier in the shot put this spring where he has the 16th best throw in the state at 55-4 ½.
“Now with committing I can worry about finishing my junior year and concentrate on my senior year,” Linderbaum said. “I’m looking forward to being a Hawkeye.”
A three star prospect who is ranked the fifth best player in Iowa for 2018 by 247 Sports, Linderbaum chose Iowa over offers from Iowa State and Minnesota.
“I felt like I had a very good relationship with the coaches there and it just felt like the right fit for me,” Linderbaum said. “I’m looking forward to the future with them.”