Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Noah Daniel of Fort Dodge has committed to the University of Iowa to play football.

Noah Daniel simply couldn’t pass on the opportunity to call himself an Iowa Hawkeye.

Fort Dodge’s senior-to-be all-stater announced this week that he will play football for head coach Kirk Ferentz at the next level.

Daniel had previously committed to South Dakota State University over Central Michigan, Northern Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota. An offer from Iowa — the school he’d grown up following and rooting for — was enough to turn the tide on his recruitment, though.

“My decision to flip was because of a childhood dream, (dating back) to being a little kid and watching Hawkeye football on Saturdays,” Daniel said. “When the coaching staff gave me the opportunity to play for them, it was a pretty straightforward choice.”

Daniel was a first team all-state kick returner for the Dodgers last fall. Fort Dodge went 7-3 overall and advanced to the Class 4A playoffs as a district co-champion.

Daniel returned three kickoffs for touchdowns and ranked among the 4A leaders in overall yards and yards per return. The do-everything standout was also one of the Dodgers’ top receivers on offense (374 yards and six touchdowns at 22 yards per reception) and defensive leaders as well (56.5 tackles as a safety).

“The difficult part of (changing from SDSU) was the relationships I’d built over time with the coaches,” said Daniel, who was also a state track participant in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes last month. “I will always appreciate what they’d done for me.

“It took me a few weeks to think about (flipping to Iowa), but as more time went on, (the Hawkeyes) were the only team I could see myself playing for.”

Daniel is one of 15 all-district players slated to return for Fort Dodge this fall.

“I want to thank my family, friends, coaches and teammates for their support throughout this process,” Daniel said. “Above all, I’m thankful to God for blessing me with the chance to compete at the next level and knowing none of this would be possible without Him.”