Menu
  • Land of 10 Home
  • Football
    • Football News
    • 2017 Schedule
  • Recruiting
    • 2018 Recruits
    • Recruiting Articles
  • Basketball
    • Basketball Articles
    • 2017 Basketball Schedule
  • Big Ten West
    • Illinois
    • Iowa
    • Minnesota
    • Nebraska
    • Northwestern
    • Purdue
    • Wisconsin
  • Big Ten East
    • Indiana
    • Maryland
    • Michigan
    • Michigan State
    • Ohio State
    • Penn State
    • Rutgers
  • Big Ten News
  • Big Ten
    • All Big Ten News
    • Illinois Fighting Illini
    • Indiana Hoosiers
    • Iowa Hawkeyes
    • Maryland Terrapins
    • Michigan Wolverines
    • Michigan State Spartans
    • Minnesota Golden Gophers
    • Nebraska Cornhuskers
    • Northwestern Wildcats
    • Ohio State Buckeyes
    • Penn State Nittany Lions
    • Purdue Boilermakers
    • Rutgers Scarlet Knights
    • Wisconsin Badgers
  • ACC
    • All ACC News
    • Boston College Eagles
    • Clemson Tigers
    • Duke Blue Devils
    • Florida State Seminoles
    • Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
    • Louisville Cardinals
    • Miami Hurricanes
    • NC State Wolfpack
    • North Carolina Tar Heels
    • Notre Dame Fighting Irish
    • Pitt Panthers
    • Syracuse Orange
    • Virginia Cavaliers
    • Virginia Tech Hokies
    • Wake Forest Demon Deacons
  • Big 12
    • All Big 12 News
    • Baylor Bears
    • Iowa State Cyclones
    • Kansas Jayhawks
    • Kansas State Wildcats
    • Oklahoma Sooners
    • Oklahoma State Cowboys
    • TCU Horned Frogs
    • Texas Longhorns
    • Texas Tech Red Raiders
    • West Virginia Mountaineers
  • Pac-12
    • All Pac-12 News
    • Arizona Wildcats
    • Arizona State Sun Devils
    • Cal Golden Bears
    • Colorado Buffaloes
    • Oregon Ducks
    • Oregon State Beavers
    • Stanford Cardinal
    • UCLA Bruins
    • USC Trojans
    • Utah Utes
    • Washington Huskies
    • Washington State Cougars
  • SEC
    • All SEC News
    • Alabama Crimson Tide
    • Arkansas Razorbacks
    • Auburn Tigers
    • Florida Gators
    • Georgia Bulldogs
    • Kentucky Wildcats
    • LSU Tigers
    • Ole Miss Rebels
    • Mississippi State Bulldogs
    • Missouri Tigers
    • South Carolina Gamecocks
    • Tennessee Volunteers
    • Texas A&M Aggies
    • Vanderbilt Commodores

Iowa: How Ivory Kelly-Martin helped prepare Noah Shannon for life with Hawkeyes

Iowa defensive tackle signee Noah Shannon (above) and running back Ivory-Kelly Martin were high school rivals, but never spoke until Shannon's official visit in December.
Bobby La Gesse/Land of 10
Bobby La Gesse
Bobby La Gesse
@BobbyLaGesse
Posted 2 weeks ago

Land of 10 has embarked on a series of Next Generation articles, a project that aims to bring our readers greater insight into the Class of 2018 signees. Land of 10 Iowa writers Scott Dochterman and Bobby La Gesse are visiting the Iowa incoming freshman class to show you more than its 40-yard dash times and recruiting rankings. We talked with 3-star defensive tackle Noah Shannon, but before we bring you the full profile on the Oswego (Ill.) High School star, here is a sneak peek at what you can expect.


OSWEGO, Ill. — Despite attending crosstown rival high schools, Noah Shannon and Ivory Kelly-Martin never spoke before Shannon’s official visit to Iowa.

A.J. Epenesa, Shannon’s host, tried to broker a conversation between the two, bringing up their high school football matchup in 2016.

Epenesa asked Kelly-Martin if his team was blown out by Shannon’s the year before. Silence followed.

“It was awkward,” Shannon said.

The conversation quickly recovered with one topic the two can bond over: Iowa football. Ivory-Martin answered a series of questions Shannon had on joining the Hawkeyes, starting a friendship Shannon hopes continues when he arrives on campus this summer.

“I can kind of look up to him sort of as a big brother when I am there,” the Oswego (Ill.) High School 3-star defensive tackle said. “If I need anything I go to him and ask him. If I need a ride he can take me home. He lives on the other side of town and things like that.”

It’s not a surprise the two didn’t know each other. They were a year apart in school. They lived near each other in the Chicago suburbs, but Kelly-Martin transferred to Oswego East his senior year after winning two state titles at Nazareth High School.

Shannon knew who Kelly-Martin was, but when they saw each other they only exchanged head nods.

“My girlfriend and his girlfriend are best friends and I’ve had more conversations with his girlfriend than actually him,” Shannon said.

They finally spoke in December. Epenesa and Kelly-Martin are roommates. After the uneven introduction, Kelly-Martin stopped playing Fortnite to discuss life at Iowa with Shannon.

The 6-foot-1, 310-pound Shannon was curious about the adjustment to college football. Ivory-Martin didn’t lie. The first few months can be rough trying to navigate campus and meeting new people.

Shannon appreciated the honesty and Ivory-Martin’s promise that things become easier as time goes on.

“Once you get that feeling of ‘OK, I know what I’m doing,’ he said it’s a lot easier,” Shannon said. “You are comfortable here and you don’t really want to leave. You just want to stay there because everyone is your family. It’s 100-plus brothers on the team you can go talk to if you ever need anything.”

iowa-football-recruiting-noah shannon-ivory kelly-martin-news-update
Iowa defensive tackle signee Noah Shannon stands with coach Kirk Ferentz during a campus visit. (Noah Shannon/Twitter)

The Oswego East-Oswego football game in 2016 was one of the biggest in the rivalry. Led by Ivory-Martin, Oswego East came in averaging 45.2 points per game and was looking for its first win in 12 tries against its rival.

Oswego dominated, winning 21-3. Ivory-Martin rushed for 101 yards on 22 carries, but had only two carries of 10 yards or more. Shannon was instrumental to Oswego containing Ivory-Martin with his ability to disrupt plays in the backfield.

“They couldn’t really get much going on the run game or the pass game because of the things I saw Noah doing on that tape,” Oswego football coach Brian Cooney said.

Shannon, who committed last July, is looking forward to joining the Hawkeyes and spending more time with Ivory-Martin. He probably won’t bring up the high school victory; he’d rather talk about how many big games the two will win together.

“It will be comforting having him there,” Shannon said. “We are from the same area. We’ve gone through similar things. He’ll know me in a way others won’t.”

NEXT On the Beat: Iowa battling traditional rivals for 4-star running back Jirehl Brock
More from:
Bobby La Gesse
  • Ferentz Factor: How much playing at Iowa boosts offensive linemen’s draft stock
  • Iowa: How Josh Jackson became a first-round prospect; Ahmed Wagner’s latest recruiting visit
  • Iowa recruiting mailbag: Where does Iowa go at QB with Max Duggan heading to TCU?
  • Why Brian Ferentz sees Iowa football in Star Wars, plus his love of the Air Raid
  • Phil Parker lets secret out, names Iowa’s first-team linebackers in midst of productive spring

Share

Get the latest Iowa News

Don't miss breaking news!
Sign up for the Land of 10 Iowa Newsletter!

Iowa Hawkeyes gear at Fanatics.com

Official Partners
Get Breaking News Fast!
Download the new Land of 10 app.
Get it on the AppStore
Get it on Google Play

Latest Big Ten News

  • Nebraska
    Nebraska football coaches explain how QBs will split reps in...
  • Big Ten
    2018 NFL mock draft: Projections for all rounds, 32 teams
  • Big Ten
    2018 NFL Mock Draft: First-round projections, top players, o...
  • 46 mins ago
    Ohio State
    EJ Smith, son of NFL legend Emmitt Smith, recaps ‘grea...
  • 46 mins ago
    Michigan
    Healthy Tarik Black ready to make an impact for Michigan WRs
  • 47 mins ago
    Iowa
    Iowa has shot at school’s modern-day NFL draft record
  • 2 hours ago
    Penn State
    2018 NFL Draft: Todd McShay ranks Saquon Barkley as top 3 RB...
  • 2 hours ago
    Penn State
    LaVar Arrington on Penn State’s Micah Parsons: ‘...
  • 3 hours ago
    Ohio State
    Ohio State podcast: Buckeyes shuffle deck on offensive line
  • 3 hours ago
    Michigan
    Michigan dynamic defensive end duo Chase Winovich, Rashan Ga...

Follow Us

  • © 2018 Cox Media Group
    • About DieHards
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Visitor Agreement
    • SEC Country
    • DawgNation
    • DieHards
  • Feedback
SportsRadar logo
The Diehards Network