Blue-Grey Football Alumni Update: London Iakopo

Blue-Grey All-American Bowl alum London Iakopo is doing well nowadays at Louisville.

Plenty of prospects, some of them high-profile, others under-the-radar, have come and gone in the past decade or so, since the inception of the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl. Still, the talent level across the board on the national scene has been about as good as it gets.

Things don’t figure to change anytime soon as the hype continues to build for this year’s games: Dec. 17 and Jan. 29 at Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium, also Jan. 5 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Raymond James Stadium and Jan. 14 at Houston Texans’ NRG Stadium.

To gain a better understanding about the rapidly growing direction of things, perhaps now it’s best to take some time to reflect on the humble beginnings. Therefore, moving forward, the plan is to more closely examine the brand’s many alumni from all over the country.

London Iakopo from Mater Dei (CA) is the focus here. As a member of the Class of 2014, some remember, he first made a name for himself with 12 tackles, eight solo stops, during the West’s 41-7 victory over East in the brand’s All-American Bowl at AT&T Stadium.

There was no shortage of talent in the game, with high-profile prospects Texas Tech commit Patrick Mahomes, Auburn commit Kamryn Pettway, Cal commit Vic Enwere, Hawaii commit Devan Stubblefield, Rice commit James Mayden and SEC target Lonnie Johnson.

Fast forward, to the present, and he’s still getting the job done, regardless of the caliber of opponent. At the next level, these days. The 6-foot and 213-pound redshirt senior defensive back will be in action against Georgia Tech on Oct. 5 in an ACC game at 12 p.m. (EST).

It’s been quite a journey. This season, however, has been rewarding. In the opener, Iakopo finished with six tackles in a 51-14 nonconference loss to Alabama. Thereafter, he ended up with eight tackles in a 20-17 nonconference victory against Western Kentucky.

Prior to, as a junior, Iakopo suffered through an injury-plagued year with Cardinals. Before the growingly successful stop in the FBS ranks, the recruiting services (247Sports, Rivals, Scout, etc.) ranked him among the country’s best at Long Beach Community College.

The future is bright as he continues to increase his growing stock in the eyes of several scouts. Playing at the next level remains to be seen, though. One thing is certain, a short time ago, Iakopo was flashing immense potential at the brand’s All-American Bowl in Texas.