Recruiting Roundup: Hawkeyes Wrap Up Busy Stretch
Iowa Football Spends Much of May, June Prospecting
IOWA CITY, Iowa – For years, the annual recruiting calendar was set, an early-February signing day ending the cycle. It’s changed pretty dramatically during the last decade with student-athletes being allowed more freedoms and benefits during the process. It’s been great for them and much more challenging for the institutions.
We’ve settled in recently to where May and June have brought with them heavy activity along the trail. During the first month college staff members meet with prospects at their high schools. In June, they play host to prospects camps. Official visitors are coming through during both months.
It fits pretty nicely into college team calendars. Although most coaches would prefer to spend more time with their current student-athletes, it gives those guys a chance to rest and recover, physically and mentally, before beginning to build back up in June.
All of that leads us to recapping what happened for the Hawkeyes in recruiting during this busy stretch. Let’s get to it.
THE NEWEST HAWKEYES
Iowa Football has found comfort in to playing host to its verbal pledges and top targets in the senior class for a late-June official-visit weekend. This year, that happened last weekend.
It’s proven fruitful in the past, and this month fell in line with history. The action got underway a few days before folks arrived from out-of-town. Somebody in town decided the Hawkeyes were the best choice for him.
Iowa City West tight end Mason Woods joined the program where his father played and now is the special teams coordinator. LeVar Woods has worked at his alma mater since ’08, shortly after his NFL career ended.
Mason Woods chose the hometown team ahead of reported offers from Missouri, Kansas and others. He’s played receiver and safety at West, and some college coaches liked him at those positions. The Hawkeyes saw the next enrollee at Tight End U.
After committing, Mason Woods got to work helping recruit. Four other visitors joined him after the event.
Indianapolis Warren Central offensive guard Cameron Herron was the first one to announce, when he did so last Sunday. He officially visited Northwestern as well, and reported offers from Iowa State, Indiana, Purdue, Duke, West Virginia, Cincinnati and others.
Not long after Herron made his choice public, St. Louis offensive tackle Lucas Allgeyer did the same. Kansas State and Northwestern played host to him on officials, too.
Monday, New England cornerback Charles “CJ” Bell made it known that he was a Hawkeye. He picked them after officially visiting Rutgers.
Chicago defensive lineman Brad Fitzgibbon rounded out Iowa’s recent run when he announced his commitment on Tuesday. His other officials were at Kansas and Michigan State.
The flurry of pledges increased Iowa’s total number of known verbal commitments in the 2025 Class to 12 for a group that likely will end up in the mid-teens. At the time of publishing, the Hawkeyes ranked 55th nationally and 17th in the Big Ten according to the 247Sports Composite. The On3 Industry Rankings show them at 33 in the country and 10th in the conference.
THE HOLDOUTS
Although the Hawkeyes ate during their official-visit extravaganza, there were leftovers. We’ll call them holdouts to avoid the negative connotation from misguided people that look down on leftovers.
Anyway, the two top targets yet to commit are Aurora (IL) West receiver Terrence Smith, a four-star prospect in the 247 Composite, and five-star Edwardsville (IL) High defensive lineman Iose Epenesa, who officially visited Iowa earlier in the month.
Smith (6-4, 185), who also officially visited Minnesota, is a tall outside receiver the Hawkeyes could really use in rebuilding their offense. Epenesa would be the best prospect in the class if he follows his father, Epenesa Epenesa, and his older bothers, AJ and Eric Epenesa, in wearing the Black and Gold.
Iowa identified Smith early in the process as a developing player at his position who also was a college-level basketball player. The program did change receiver coaches during the courtship, replacing Kelton Copeland with Jon Budmayr this offseason.
Iose (pronounced Yo-Say) Epenesa has spent a good portion of his life visiting Iowa City with his family. It’s hard to imagine another program has been able to build that kind of connection with him, but he’s still uncommitted.
Daytona Beach (FL) Mainland defensive tackle Christian Hudson (6-1, 280) took his Iowa official with the group last weekend. It followed stops at Iowa State, Maryland and Central Florida. He’s scheduled his announcement for July 6.
Texas kicker Scott Starzyk picked up a scholarship offer during his Iowa official. He also visited Syracuse officially and reported offers from Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and others.
His decision appears to be nearing.
“Iowa was a great experience, and I’m looking to make a final decision by early August,” Starzyk said.
The Hawkeyes only lost one recruit from its big official visit to date. Overland Park (KS) Blue Valley Northwest offensive lineman Brock Heath announced his commitment to Kansas State on Thursday. He also officially visited Kansas and Northwestern.
Two prospects expected to officially visit Iowa last weekend did not make it. Cedar Rapids Kennedy offensive lineman Nick Brooks, a one-time Hawkeye verbal, and Joshua Guerrier, an athlete from Florida, appeared to be focused on other programs.
JUMPING IN WITH JUNIORS
Iowa put in a lot of work the last few months when it came to the junior class. It was striving to build on gaining its first commitment in the cycle from Waterloo West four-star O-Lineman Carson Nielsen in April.
The Hawkeyes offered a pair of quarterbacks following camps. They’ve now offered four signal callers in the class.
Florida’s Michael Clayton II picked up his Iowa opportunity on June 15. Nebraska, Missouri, Baylor and SMU offered him after that.
Cash Herrera from California camped with the Hawkeyes on June 13. Their offer was followed by UCLA, Minnesota, Yale, Columbia and Brown.
Iowa extended additional offers to instate juniors recently. Iowa City West offensive lineman Colin Whitters and athlete Julian Manson were among them. The latter’s father, Jason Manson, played for the Hawkeyes and is an assistant on the staff.
“Having the potential opportunity to wear the black and gold, it means a lot to me to potentially be a part of something this community values so much. It’s very humbling and exciting,” Whitters said.
Sioux City Heelan linebacker Kasen Thomas visited Iowa in the spring. He picked up a scholarship offer at camp on June 20. Iowa State also offered him.
“What makes it special is that they have a great program and have one of the top defenses in the country,” Thomas said of the Hawkeyes’ offer.
YOUNG GUNS
There was a time when it was rare for Iowa to offer prospects early in their prep career. Those days are gone.
The Hawkeyes offered a trio of instate 2027 recruits following June camps. OABCIG’s Jaxx DeJean, the young brother of former Iowa All-American Cooper DeJean, Luke Brewer from Norwalk and Woodbine’s Landon Blum were the recipients.
DeJean (6-4, 210) had been offered by Alabama-Birmingham. Kansas State offered the versatile athlete following a camp last week.
“Getting an offer from Iowa means a lot to me,” Jaxx said. “I’ve watched the Hawkeyes my whole life and have always been a huge fan. So getting an offer from them means a lot.”
Brewer (6-4, 220) has enjoyed a big spring and early summer. After being offered by Iowa State last fall, the Hawkeyes, Georgia, Miami (FL), Kansas State and others have done the same thing with the Norwalk tight end.
“I think Iowa has the reputation of being Tight End U, so it kinda stands for itself. They know what they are doing with their tight end,” he said.
Blum (6-5, 180) is a long, athletic prospect that’s also capable of playing college basketball. Kansas State offered in football last week. Iowa State did that in April.
“One of the things I like most about Iowa is their philosophy and how they run their program,” he said.
The Hawkeyes worked with a lot of athletes at camps that they added to their recruiting board for further evaluation. While recruiting never sleeps, it does slow down until the dead period ends on July 24.