Iowa gets commitment from John Waggoner, state's top 2018 football recruit

West Des Moines Dowling senior John Waggoner, the state's top-ranked recruit in the Class of 2018, announced Tuesday he has committed to Iowa.

Waggoner is a 4-star recruit in the 247Sports composite. Rivals has him ranked 17th nationally as a 4-star recruit, 247Sports gives him three stars and the No. 20 defensive end spot in the nation, 347th overall.

Excited to announce my commitment to Iowa! Can't thank everyone enough for the support throughout this process. Go Hawks! December 5, 2017

Excited to announce my commitment to Iowa! Can't thank everyone enough for the support throughout this process. Go Hawks! #Swarm18 pic.twitter.com/qzPoqUuDZ2

— John Waggoner (@johnwaggs_12)

The 6-foot-5, 245-pound Waggoner had 11 solo tackles for loss and five solo sacks as Dowling (12-1) won its fifth straight state championship this year.

According to 247Sports, Waggoner also had offers from Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa State, LSU, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State and UCLA, among others.

Iowa now has commitments from the state's top three players in the Class of 2018, according to 247Sports, and they're all on the defensive side of the ball. Waggoner joins No. 2 Tyler Linderbaum (DT, Solon) and No. 3 Dillon Doyle (LB, Iowa City West).

The Hawkeyes reeled in a 5-star defensive end in the Class of 2017 in A.J. Epenesa of Edwardsville, Ill. He saw the field as a true freshman, totaling eight solo tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss.

Iowa expects to have depth at the position last year, with starters Anthony Nelson and Parker Hesse returning for their junior and senior seasons, respectively.