HawkeyeReport.com publisher Tom Kakert will bring you a weekly exclusive recruiting report on TheGazette.com and right here on IowaPrepSports. Enjoy Tom’s inaugural edition below, and check back each week to find out the latest on the recruiting trail, including where the best athletes from around the state are headed for college.

By Tom Kakert, HawkeyeReport.com

With the beginning of the 2011 college football season just over one week away, Iowa fans are turning their full attention to the Hawkeye Football team.

But many Hawkeye fans are also turning their focus to the life blood of any successful college football program, recruiting.

One thing about recruiting is that it never sleeps.

It never rests.

It’s always on the move.

The Hawkeyes current recruiting haul for the Class of 2012, which will sign in February, stands at nine prospects as we head into the final days of August. According to Coach Kirk Ferentz, the 2012 signing class will be somewhere in the high teens, so at this point, the Hawkeye coaches are halfway home.

For those who might be new to recruiting or a novice to the whole process, at this point all commitments by prospects to attend a school are verbal commitments. That means a prospect has said they will be attending that school and the school has accepted that verbal commitment. That also means a commitment is not a binding one, and either the prospect or the college program could back out of that commitment.

The more formal binding commitment process and the signing of a letter of intent happens the first Wednesday of February each year.

With that in mind, the Hawkeyes have filled several positions of need, but certainly have more work to do.

Here’s a position by position look at the needs and where things stand. For a more detailed look please visit our HawkeyeReport.com Recruiting Hot Board at http://iowa.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1224501

QB: No commitment thus far and the Iowa coaches haven’t really extended many offers to signal callers in the Class of 2012.  Iowa offered two four-star prospects in Gunner Kiel who committed to Indiana and Zeke Pike, who has committed to Auburn. Iowa also missed on Bart Houston, a three-star prospect who gave his verbal to Wisconsin. It appears that the Hawkeyes coaches are going to follow the path that they did when the recruited Ricky Stanzi, who didn’t receive his scholarship offer from Iowa until late November. Iowa will sign a quarterback this year, but it might take a while to find out who that might be.

RB: Technically the Hawkeyes have a verbal commitment at running back in Mike Malloy, but he was taken more as an athlete, which means he could end up on the defensive side of the football. Malloy is also dealing with some legal issues, so his status could be up in the air. Iowa took three running backs last year, but the cupboard is hardly full, so expect a couple of commitments to the backfield. Best guesses right now would be David Smith, a three-star prospect from the Chicago area or Greg Garmon, a four-star back from Erie, PA.

WR: This might be one of the biggest need positions for the Hawkeyes in this class. Last year they took some hits due to graduation and Iowa will lose Marvin McNutt after this season. Add in the fact that they probably wanted to sign one more receiver in the 2011 class, and the expectation is they will sign at least three in 2012. Three-star Ohio wide receiver Cameron Wilson has verbally committed and the Hawkeyes remain in the running for several other prospects. Four-star prospect Andre McDonald from Minnesota was once a verbal commit to the home-state Gophers, but he has since backed out of that commitment and has Iowa in the lead. The big priority for Iowa from an in-state perspective will be four-star Des Moines Dowling prospect Amara Darboh, who is also considering Notre Dame, Michigan, and Florida.

TE: If there is a position that might be passed over in the Class of 2012, it could be tight end. The Hawkeyes have usually taken at least one in every class and last year they took three, so the need is not as strong, and the group as a whole is relatively young. Three-star prospect Will Johnson from Minnesota has an offer from Iowa, but appears to be leaning towards staying at home.

OL: While wide receiver is a need, offensive line is always a need for Iowa and, more importantly, Kirk Ferentz makes it a priority. Iowa has two verbal commitments in four-star prospect Ryan Ward from New Lenox, IL, and Iowa legacy Mitch Keppy from Port Byron, IL. The Hawkeyes could go as high as four offensive linemen in this class. The big name is Jordan Diamond, a four-star prospect from Chicago, who has a long list of suitors. Other names to watch are four-star Alex Kozan from Colorado and three-star Kyle Fuller from Texas. Both will make their official visits to Iowa next month.

DL: Defensive line is another need area thanks to graduation and attrition over the past few years. The Hawkeyes have two verbal commitments in Jaleel Johnson, a four-star prospect from Chicago, and Drew Ott, a three-star defensive end from Nebraska. Like the offensive line, Iowa is expected to sign at least four prospects and there’s a long list of names still under consideration. Some of the bigger-name four-star prospects appear to be long shots, but Iowa is high on the lists of three-star players like Nate Lohn from Kansas City, Darryl Render from Ohio, and Trace Clark from Wichita, KS, who will be visiting in October.

LB: The Hawkeyes have taken a good number of linebacker prospects the past few years, so it will not be a huge need in 2012. Iowa has one verbal commitment at this point and that’s from LaRon Taylor of Detroit.  Iowa will likely take one more at linebacker and right now the biggest name showing interest is four-star prospect Quanzell Lambert from New Jersey.

DB: Much like wide receiver, Iowa probably would have liked to have added another defensive back last year. This year the expectation is that the Hawkeyes will look to sign at least four prospects to the defensive backfield. Right now there is one commitment on board in Maurice Fleming, a three-star prospect who projects to cornerback. The Hawkeyes might be on the verge of picking up a second commitment to the defensive backfield this weekend when Ruben Lile from Detroit is set to announce his college choice. A couple of other names to watch would be three-star prospects Anthony Morgan from Texas and Brandon Watkins from Michigan.

P/K: Initially the Hawkeyes weren’t expecting to add a specialist this year, but Iowa coaches feel like there is a pressing need at punter and took a verbal commitment from two-star prospect Connor Kornbrath from West Virginia in late June.