Iowa's recruiting class checked in at No. 29 nationally, but who might become future stars wasn't the topic du jour at coach Kirk Ferentz's signing-day press conference.

Ferentz and his program have been under scrutiny after 13 players were recently hospitalized with a rare muscle disorder called rhabdomyolysis. The players went to doctors complaining of soreness and discolored urine after a series of intense workouts in January.

The coach was slow to address the issue, which created speculation that the workouts were punitive beyond the normal type of offseason conditioning work.

Ferentz denied the workouts were punitive in any way and stressed that the same type of heavy drills -- which reportedly included 100 squats with up to a player's full body weight in rapid fashion -- had been done on three other occasions without any health issues ensuing.

"What we do here is very competitive, and it requires an awful lot of hard work," Ferentz said. "I can share this with you: I don't want to work with people who are not that committed, and I don't want to coach players that are not committed, because that's really what it takes to compete successfully in this endeavor."

Ferentz said he is perplexed over what happened and looks forward to hearing the results of an investigation that will be jointly conducted by the university and the State Board of Regents. He said the workouts that led to the hospitalization will not be repeated.

The issues overshadowed the signing-day haul that included highly coveted offensive linemen Jordan Walsh and Austin Blythe as well as quarterback Jake Rudock.

"We feel great about this group collectively," Ferentz said. "We address needs, but more importantly I think it's a group of guys that we are eager to work with. The group is widespread in terms of their talents and the positions we tried to address."

TOP OF THE CLASS

QB Jake Rudock (St. Thomas Aquinas, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) -- A highly productive team leader in the mold of outing Ricky Stanzi. It will not be a surprise if Rudock is quickly in the mix for Iowa's starting job.

RB Rodney Coe (Edwardsville High, Glen Carbon, Ill.) -- Big back who runs with both speed and power. Could land the backup running spot this season.

DE John Raymon (Council Rock North High, Richboro, Pa.) -- Injury as prep senior makes him a bit of a sleeper, but Iowa sees him developing into a highly productive performer.

Copyright (C) 2011 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.