What to know about Iowa football’s 2025 recruiting with early signing period underway

IOWA CITY — With high school recruiting, Iowa football has “got to project sometimes and think a little bit.”

“These guys are finishing their senior year,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said last week. “Most of them were committed back in June. They're not even seniors in high school, we're recruiting them. Most of our guys don't walk in here looking like NFL guys. They may look that way when they walk out, but they don't look like that when they get here.”

Iowa’s next wave of recruiting projections will officially become Hawkeyes on Wednesday as the three-day early signing period begins. It is significantly earlier than in past years and no longer will coincide with the December transfer portal window, which opens next week.

Here is a look at where the Hawkeyes’ 2025 class stands (and what’s next for the program) during this key point on the recruiting calendar:

Where does Iowa’s 2025 class rank nationally, among Big Ten?

The major recruiting sites vary in their rankings of the Hawkeyes’ 2025 class from 32nd to 58th nationally, as of Tuesday morning:

On3: 32nd nationally, 10th in Big Ten

247 Sports: 45th nationally, 14th in Big Ten

Rivals: 58th nationally, 17th in Big Ten

What positions has Iowa targeted in the 2025 class?

Three of Iowa’s 14 committed scholarship players are tight ends — Thomas Meyer from Clear Lake, Mason Woods from Iowa City and Eli Johnson from River Falls, Wis.

Iowa has two commitments each at another four position groups — offensive line, linebackers, defensive line and defensive backs.

Iowa has one commitment each from players under scholarship at wide receiver, running back and quarterback. (Quarterback, in reality, has two because of the caliber of preferred walk-on that the Hawkeyes landed.)

Who has committed so far?

Here are the 14 committed scholarship players, listed in order of rating from On3:

Iowa’s preferred walk-ons most notably include quarterback Ryan Fitzgerald, who is the son of ex-Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald. He has three-star ratings from 247 Sports and On3. He is the 59th-best quarterback — actually 14 spots above Sullivan — in 247 Sports’ composite rankings.

Where are the recruits from?

The Hawkeyes found plenty of success recruiting on the other side of the Mississippi River, as prospects from Illinois made up almost half of their scholarship-level commitments in 2025. Here is the state-by-state breakdown:

2025 class includes some familiar names

Iose Epenesa is the younger brother of former Hawkeye (and current NFL defensive end) A.J. Epenesa as well as soon-to-be-graduating linebacker Eric Epenesa. He also is the son of Hayden Fry-era Hawkeye Eppy Epenesa.

The newest Epenesa to become a Hawkeye has four-star ratings from On3 and Rivals and a five-star rating from 247 Sports.

Mason Woods is the son of former Hawkeye player and current Iowa special teams coordinator LeVar Woods. The younger Woods chose Iowa over scholarship offers from Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri, among other Division I programs.

What are Iowa’s remaining positional needs?

While Iowa has a smaller incoming high school recruiting class, it is partly out of necessity as the 105-player roster cap takes effect ahead of next season.

Any high school recruit that the Hawkeyes add at this point needs to be good enough for the Hawkeyes to justify cutting one more player on the existing roster.

That being said, kicker appears to be a positional need after top-rated recruit Scott Starzyk decommitted from Iowa (and committed the next day to Arkansas).

As for the transfer portal — open this year from Dec. 9 until Dec. 28 — quarterback, defensive tackle, linebacker and wide receiver are among the positions where the Hawkeyes could potentially be in the market for a player who could make an immediate impact.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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