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If fans are looking at star ratings to find the best players in a class, they are likely to make a mistake. One of those players overlooked in the star ratings is Illinois defensive back Sebastian Castro. He’s listed as a 3-star by both Rivals and 247 Sports, but when you turn on the film, Castro immediately jumps off the screen.
The Richards High product did a little bit of everything for his high school team, spending time at both QB and WR on the offensive side of the ball and filling up the stat sheet from the safety position on defense. His explosiveness and decisiveness should have Iowa fans excited.
And today they should be very excited as Castro is officially a Hawkeye.
A B1G addition to the defensive backfield – DB Sebastian Castro | #Swarm19 https://t.co/wAIrCXFeUH pic.twitter.com/qsejXUhkzi
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) December 19, 2018
Castro joins Iowa’s class of 2019 after amassing 65 tackles, including 6 tackles for loss, 5 interceptions and 5 forced fumbles. He also scored 14 touchdowns on the offensive side of the ball.
He has solid size for a defensive back at 6’1” and nearly 200 pounds already. But what is most impressive about Castro is certainly his ability to diagnose a play from the safety spot. Once he’s made a decision, he looks like he’s been shot out of a cannon.
Those 5 interceptions indicate an eye for the ball and his use on offense shows he’s clearly comfortable with the ball in his hands. He’ll fit well into Iowa’s secondary of the future as a ball hawking safety with the ability to come up big in run support.
Castro is one of three commits in the class of 2019 from the state of Illinois. He joins a pair of tight end commits in Logan Lee and Josiah Miamen.
He’s one of two defensive backs currently committed in the class, joining Florida native Dane Belton. Belton could end up at either safety or corner. Look for the Hawkeyes to add a pure corner on signing day or in the late period to match with Belton and Castro.
Castro originally committed to Iowa back in late April. He made his official visit this past weekend, joining a number of potential commits in the class of 2019 and beyond.