Iowa State picks up second top-50 JUCO with DE Matt Leo

AMES — The Iowa State football team hauled in another big — and big-time — recruit when defensive end Matt Leo signed with the program Wednesday night.

At 6-foot-7 and 265 pounds, Leo is a consensus three-star recruit by ESPN, 247Sports, Rivals and Scout out of Arizona Western. He is a top-50 JUCO player by ESPN (No. 42) and 247Sports (No. 47), joining juco wide receiver Matt Eaton as a signee Wednesday in the Cyclones' upcoming class.

Leo, who was originally committed to Arizona, held offers from Oklahoma, Mississippi State, Hawaii, Kansas and UCF. He will enroll in classes at Iowa State for the 2017 spring semester.

'One word comes up with Matt, and it's size,' Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said in a statement. 'He's got great length and really does a great job coming off the edge. He has the ability to rush the passer, but also the strength and ability to stop the run.'

As a native of Adelaide, Australia, Leo grew up playing rugby and just started playing at Arizona Western in 2015, where he saw action as a reserve in 11 games. He had 17 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks this past season while helping his team to a berth in the NJCAA national championship game.

After signing Leo, Iowa State has 20 members in its 2017 recruiting class as of Wednesday night and the No. 39 class overall according to 247Sports.