By Hawk Fanatic

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Tom Lemming has been evaluating and ranking high school football prospects for nearly a half century, so when he hands out stars, they mean something.

The Iowa football team’s latest commitment, 2026 Illinois offensive lineman Gene Riordan, has earned four stars from Lemming, and is regarded as a top-100 prospect in his class.

Riordan committed to Iowa on Monday, picking the Hawkeyes over reported scholarship offers from Oklahoma, Iowa State, Auburn Penn State, Minnesota, Illinois Georgia Tech among others.

“He’s a big-time ball player, very athletic,” Lemming said Monday in a phone interview. “He’s got very good size. He’d be a perfect offensive guard or center. He moves well.”

Lemming lives in the Chicago area and is very familiar with Riordan, who is from the Chicago suburb of Hinsdale.

In fact, he plans to meet with Riordan and other top recruits on May 4 as part of the evaluation and promotion process.

“I give him four stars, I really like him a lot,” Lemming said.

Riordan is the fourth offensive lineman to join Iowa’s 2026 recruiting class, the others being Carson Nielson, Hudson Parliament, Owen Linder and Collin Whitters.