Iowa checks all the boxes for Marist’s Brad Fitzgibbon

Marist rising senior Brad Fitzgibbon felt a strong connection with Iowa throughout his recruitment, but he wanted to check a few boxes before he felt comfortable committing to the Hawkeyes.

Fitzgibbon answered all those questions during an official visit at Iowa this weekend. He committed to the Hawkeyes on Sunday and announced his decision over social media Tuesday.

“It feels great, honestly,” Fitzgibbon said. “I’ve never been happier.”

Fitzgibbon chose the Hawkeyes after he also considered Michigan State and Kansas. While he felt a strong connection with those programs, Iowa seemed like it would be the best fit for him once he learned more about the program during his second visit to campus.

He answered those questions throughout the weekend. Fitzgibbon learned more about things like the living arrangements, the status of Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz’ coaching staff and how the coaches interacted with both the recruits, commits and current players.

Once he spent more time with the players, which included former RedHawk teammate John Nestor, and other commits, Fitzgibbon realized why players and coaches stayed at Iowa during the age of the transfer portal.

“Not a lot of guys come and go out of Iowa,” Fitzgibbon said. “It’s one of the places I see myself having friends for life there, teammates for life. Being a part of that program is something special.”

At 6-foot-3, 280-pounds, Fitzgibbon is an exciting defensive lineman prospect. Both Rivals and 247Sports rank him as a three-star recruit, with 247Sports having him as the No. 23 rising senior prospect in Illinois and the 89th-ranked defensive lineman in the nation.

“It feels great, honestly. I’ve never been happier.”

—  Brad Fitzgibbon, Marist rising senior

Fitzgibbon played in five games last season, finishing with 10 total tackles, seven of which were for a loss. He also had one pass disruption in his limited time on the field.

Marist coach Mike Fitzgerald is still getting to know Fitzgibbon after taking over the program in January, but Fitzgerald believes Fitzgibbon’s game will transition well to the Big Ten and Iowa’s scheme. Fitzgerald said Fitzgibbon can play all three downs and is physical and stout but also has speed, which is unique for his size.

For Fitzgerald, Fitzgibbon’s physical traits complement his work ethic, which will help him succeed..

“Brad is a guy who works really hard, is intentional about what he does,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s got a goal in his mind and goes after it. He doesn’t just talk about it, he puts the work in.”

While Fitzgibbon is grateful to have the opportunity to play collegiate football, he’s excited to be done with the recruiting process. He wanted to be done with this process at this point so he can focus on not only his senior season, but his senior year.

“I wanted to get it done so my attention could be 100% on Marist, 100% on football, senior season, senior year, athletically, academically,” Fitzgibbon said. “It was a huge point of emphasis.”