By Tyler Devine

Your Prep Sports

Solon defensive lineman Tyler Linderbaum grew up watching the Iowa football team.

The 6-foot-2, 255-pound Linderbaum now has an opportunity to suit up for the Hawkeyes after receiving a scholarship offer from Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz this past weekend.

“It feels great,” said Linderbaum, a three-star prospect in the 2018 class. “That’s a team I grew up watching and grew up rooting for. It just feels good to get an offer from a team I grew up watching.

“Me and my family talked to coach Ferentz for a good 20 minutes. Just getting to know about me and my family and what we do. When we got to talking he really liked me as a player, just how I conduct myself and how I play. He likes how I play the game.”

One of Linderbaum's coaches at Solon is former Iowa star defensive end and retired NFL veteran Aaron Kampman, who teaches many of the same principles that Ferentz and his staff preach at Iowa.

“A lot of stuff they preach is what I get at Solon,” Linderbaum said. “A lot of the technique they teach is really similar to the stuff I get taught at Solon with my coaches. Coach Kampman, he used to play at Iowa and the stuff he’s instilling in our practices is the same that Iowa is.

“He’s very good with us. He works with our pass rush games and he works with the defensive ends. He’s just a great coach and a great person.”

Kampman, who enjoyed a ten-year career in the National Football League, also has helped Linderbaum with the recruiting process.

“He’s told me a few things about schools and what to look at,” Linderbaum said. “The big one is to get to know their strength and conditioning coach because that’s who I’m going to be spending most of my time with. So that’s one big thing he wants me to focus on.”

Linderbaum’s high school teammate Jacob Coons, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound tight end, is part of Iowa's 2017 recruiting class after signing a national letter of intent in February. The opportunity to play Coons at the next level appeals to Linderbuam.

“Being teammates is fun being with him,” Linderbaum said. “And having the opportunity at the next level would be pretty cool too.”

And though Iowa is recruiting Linderbaum as a defensive tackle, Linderbaum isn't opposed to playing on either side of the ball in college. He also starts for Solon at center.

“If I do choose Iowa things could change,” Linderbaum said. “I could be on the other side of the ball on the offensive line. Things could change when you get to college. But for right now all they really talked about is defensive tackle but things could change.”

Linderbaum also has an offer from Iowa State and has been getting attention from Minnesota. He is reluctant to name a favorite at this point because he hopes that more schools come calling.

“Not right now, I guess,” Linderbaum said. “It’s pretty early. I still have to get to know more about each Iowa and Iowa State’s campuses and hopefully there will be more schools I get to choose from as time goes.”

Linderbaum also plans to visit Minnesota on Thursday.