Where Iowa football’s 2024 recruiting class stands as early signing period begins

IOWA CITY — Iowa football’s verbal commitments in the 2024 class are about to become signees.

Wednesday marks the first day FBS players can officially sign with their prospective schools.

Iowa has 21 commitments from players under scholarship offers along with others who are committed as preferred walk-ons.

Notable preferred walk-ons include linebacker Devan Van Ness — he is the younger brother of former Hawkeye Lukas Van Ness — and kicker Tripp Woody.

How does Iowa’s recruiting class rank?

Iowa’s recruiting class ranks 33rd nationally in 247Sports’ composite rankings, 29th in On3’s rankings and 30th in Rivals’ rankings, as of Tuesday afternoon.

When specifically looking within what will be the 18-team Big Ten in 2024, the Hawkeyes rank either eighth or ninth, depending on one’s preferred recruiting site.

How does this year’s recruiting class compare with past years?

Iowa’s 2024 class is on par, if not above par, with other classes when looking at the three major recruiting sites. Here are the Hawkeyes’ recruiting rankings from the previous five classes:

Class of 2023

Class of 2022

Class of 2021

Class of 2020

Class of 2019

What positions did Iowa recruit most heavily?

Here is the position-by-position breakdown of Iowa’s 21 scholarship additions. These numbers exclude walk-ons such as Van Ness and Woody.

Which states produced the most Hawkeyes?

The state of Iowa is unsurprisingly the biggest source of Hawkeye 2024 recruits, followed by Illinois. After that, the 2024 recruiting class has a diverse geographic distribution.

Iowa also has one recruit from Australia.

Who has committed?

The following prospects are mentioned in order of On3 rating:

Offensive lineman Will Nolan has four-star ratings from On3, 247Sports and Rivals. The 6-foot-6 prospect from Arlington Heights, Ill., chose the Hawkeyes over Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa State and other Power Five programs.

Linebacker Derek Weisskopf will join the Hawkeyes after a stellar prep football and track and field career with Williamsburg. He won multiple state titles as a high jumper and was one of The Gazette’s 2023 prep football co-players of the year.

Defensive end Drew Campbell has a four-star rating from On3 and three-star ratings from 247Sports and Rivals. He is the younger brother of former Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell, who won the Butkus Award during his time in Iowa City and was a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Tight end Gavin Hoffman picked the Hawkeyes over Missouri, Arizona State, Tennessee and Auburn, among other Power Five schools. The 6-foot-6 prospect boasts a 40.5-inch vertical jump.

Defensive end Joseph Anderson committed to Iowa this summer with plans to compete in football and track and field. He has four-star ratings from On3 and 247Sports and turned down offers from Missouri, Iowa State and Kansas State.

Linebacker Cam Buffington was one of two players in this year’s class to commit before the start of their sophomore years of high school. Since then, the Winfield-Mount Union standout has earned a four-star rating from 247Sports.

Offensive lineman Bodey McCaslin had an impressive list of offers before committing to the Hawkeyes in May, including but not exclusive to Penn State, Kansas State, Colorado and Kansas. On3 rated him as the 15th-best prospect in the state of Illinois.

Running back Brevin Doll suffered a setback this fall when he broke his arm in Adel DeSoto Minburn’s game against Lewis Central. In his last full high school season, he rushed for 1,475 yards for ADM while averaging 8.2 yards per carry.

Defensive lineman Chima Chineke is a three-star recruit from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He also reported offers from Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas and other Power Five schools. It marks the second consecutive class in which the Hawkeyes received at least one commitment from the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Offensive lineman Cody Fox, a 6-foot-5 prospect from Winthrop, was the first member of the 2024 recruiting class when he committed in June 2021 — shortly after the end of his freshman year of high school.

Iowa plucked tight end Michael Burt from the heart of Husker territory. The Omaha, Neb., prospect chose the Hawkeyes over Nebraska, Minnesota and Illinois.

Linebacker Preston Ries did a bit of everything for Monticello this year — completed about 63 percent of his passes as quarterback, led Monticello in tackles and also handled punting duties. Ries, along with Weisskopf, was The Gazette’s other 2023 prep football co-player of the year.

Offensive lineman Josh Janowski told Shaw Media’s Steve Soucie “Iowa was the only school I ever wanted.” When the offer from the Hawkeyes arrived in January, he committed immediately. The Tinley Park, Ill., native has three-star ratings from On3, 247Sports and Rivals.

Wide receiver K.J. Parker earned Chicago Sun-Times all-area recognition after averaging 74.2 yards per game on offense and recording four interceptions on defense. Parker chose Iowa over Cincinnati, Western Michigan, Buffalo and Illinois State.

Wide receiver Reece Vander Zee is among Iowa’s in-state recruiting wins in the 2024 class. The three-star wide receiver from Rock Rapids visited Iowa and Iowa State this summer before choosing to be a Hawkeye.

Running back Xavier Williams missed much of his senior high school season after partially tearing his ACL in Week 2, according to one of the Chicago Tribune’s suburban newspapers, before eventually coming back without needing surgery. Williams is a three-star prospect, according to various recruiting sites.

Quarterback James Resar could bring some speed to the Hawkeyes under center. His 100-meter dash time is 10.67 seconds. Other offers — before he committed to Iowa and after — included North Carolina, Indiana and Georgia Tech.

Defensive back Rashad Godfrey picked the Hawkeyes this summer over Kansas State, Louisville, Boston College, Duke and other programs. He has since earned three-star ratings from 247Sports and Rivals.

Defensive lineman Devan Kennedy committed from the Phoenix area — a place Iowa traditionally has not recruited well, which special teams coordinator LeVar Woods has been working to change. Kennedy’s other offers included Penn State, Illinois and Oregon State.

Defensive back Jaylen Watson chose Iowa over Minnesota, West Virginia, Maryland and Cincinnati. The Toledo, Ohio, prospect has a family connection to Iowa, as his uncle is former Hawkeye standout Fred Russell.

Iowa has another punter coming from Down Under, and his name is Rhys Dakin. Like Tory Taylor — Iowa’s prolific punter and Ray Guy Award winner — Dakin has worked with the Prokick Australia coaches to refine his game.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com