The #1 Player In Iowa: Xavier Nwankpa

Xavier Nwankpa plays Safety at Southeast Polk High School. Nwankpa is ranked as the 92nd best recruit in the country, and is a Top 5 recruit at his position. In addition, he is the #1 recruit in the state of Iowa. His top offers are, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and Michigan.

Growing up, were you inspired by any NFL Players?

Yeah, my favorite players were Troy Polomalu and Kam Chancellor. I loved their play style and aggression.

What high school is your biggest rival?

It used to be dms East but now I’d say it has turned to either Ankeny Centennial or West Dms Valley.

What songs do you listen to pregame, to get you hyped up?

Depends, I usually switch it up every week honestly. Just shuffle my playlist full of rappers such ass Tee Grizzley, POP Smoke, Lil baby, NBA YoungBoy, Polo G etc.

What is your offseason training like?

I workout with my trainer 3x a week doing plyometrics, agility/change of direction, linear speed things like that. Then I went to the field a few times a week to run some routes and do a little 7on7.

What is your favorite memory of your high school career?

Definitely has to be going to the UNI Dome my freshman year to play in the semifinals.

What parts of your high school game do you hope you can transition to the college level?

My aggression and play recognition along with ball skills

What do you look for in choosing a college?

A good relationship with the coaching staff, great academics for after football, and a good culture.

When did you start looking at colleges, and when did colleges start looking at you?

Freshman year colleges start looking into me but I’d say I was looking into colleges around 7th or 8th grade going to camps and just doing research on some schools.

If you could meet one sports hero, who would it be?

George Taliaferro for sure being the first black player drafted into the NFL.

What is your favorite sports moment, as a fan?

Definitely watching my dream school LSU, go undefeated this past year.