Hawkeye Football Recruiting: Breaking Down Iowa’s Class of 2027

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz watches the football team during practice April 9, 2026 in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Spring practice is underway, the transfer portal window is now closed and Kirk Ferentz’s staff is simultaneously building for the present and the future. While the portal tends to dominate headlines, the 2027 high school recruiting class is quietly shaping up to be one of Iowa’s strongest in recent memory. Seven commits are already in the fold, the class is ranked 28th nationally per On3 and the Hawkeyes have momentum building through their spring practice season which has historically been fruitful for recruiting.

Let’s break it all down.

The Scholarship Picture

Iowa graduated 27 seniors after the 2025 season and brought in 27 new faces (16 transfers, 11 freshmen) at the start of the spring semester. With the NCAA’s 105-man roster limit and the natural attrition of transfers, early departures, and graduation, the Hawkeyes are expected to have roughly 20-25 scholarships available in the 2027 class. That number will fluctuate as the portal window plays out and more becomes clear about who’s staying and who’s going.

The biggest position group losses heading into 2027 will be along the defensive line (where Iowa already lost 6 of 8 rotational players this past cycle), the secondary, and potentially the offensive line depending on NFL Draft attrition. Some of this has been addressed via the portal, but Ferentz and his staff are clearly front-loading this class of 2027 with defensive talent and offensive linemen — a classic Iowa approach.

The Class So Far: Seven Commits

That’s two linebackers, two offensive tackles, an edge rusher, a safety, and a tight end. Classic Iowa pipeline positions. Let’s dive into each one.

Gavin Stecker — LB — Bettendorf, IA

The crown jewel of the class and Iowa’s first 2027 commit. Stecker is a 4-star linebacker ranked No. 25 at his position nationally and No. 3 in the state of Iowa. As a junior, he led Bettendorf with 77 total tackles, added seven tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks, and recovered two fumbles. At 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, he has prototypical Iowa linebacker size and the instincts to match. He chose the Hawkeyes over Iowa State, Kansas State, Kansas, and Minnesota. This is exactly the kind of in-state talent Iowa can’t afford to let leave, and they didn’t.

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Jaxx DeJean — TE — Odebolt, IA

Yes, that last name is exactly what you think it is. Jaxx is the younger brother of Cooper DeJean, the former Iowa All-American who’s now in his second year with the Philadelphia Eagles. The legacy factor is real, but Jaxx is his own player — a 6-foot-3.5, 233-pound tight end who caught 36 passes for 461 yards and six touchdowns as a junior. He chose Iowa over Kansas State, Michigan, and others. When Cooper posted his reaction to his brother’s commitment, the internet lost its mind. Having a DeJean back in the black and gold just feels right.

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Braylon Bingham — LB — Pleasantville, IA

Iowa’s second linebacker commit gives the Hawkeyes a nice one-two punch at the position. Bingham is a 6-foot-2, 205-pound in-state product from Pleasantville who brings sideline-to-sideline range and physicality. Pairing him with Stecker gives Iowa two high-upside linebackers who could eventually form the backbone of the defense together.

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Jake Thies — S — Oak Park, IL

The first commit from outside Iowa’s borders, Thies is a 6-foot, 185-pound safety out of the Chicago suburbs. He committed on March 28 and brings a defensive back pedigree from the talent-rich Illinois pipeline that Iowa has mined successfully for years. With the secondary needing reinforcements down the road, Thies is a smart get-ahead pickup.

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Reilly Newman — OT — West Chester, OH

Newman is the class’s highest-rated offensive lineman at 88 overall and brings legitimate size at 6-foot-6, 285 pounds. He committed March 30 after choosing Iowa over 19 other schools, including Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Oregon, and Kentucky. Landing an Ohio kid with that many Power Four offers speaks volumes about the program’s national recruiting reach. Offensive line coach George Barnett is leading his recruitment, and Newman fits the mold of the big, athletic tackles Iowa has developed into NFL players for decades.

Nate Brenneman — OT — Rock Valley, IA

At 6-foot-7, 250 pounds, Brenneman is a mammoth in-state offensive lineman from Rock Valley. He’s the sixth commit and third in-state product in the class. Brenneman held offers from 10 schools including Iowa State, Duke, Kansas, and Michigan State before committing on April 5. He has the frame to add significant weight at the college level, and Barnett clearly sees something in his raw tools and footwork.

Tommy Riordan — EDGE — Hinsdale, IL

The newest commit and potentially the most impactful. Riordan is a 4-star edge rusher out of Hinsdale Central (IL) who stands 6-foot-5, 245 pounds with an 80-inch wingspan. He committed on April 7 — just two days ago — after visiting Iowa during spring practice and chose the Hawkeyes over Wisconsin, Illinois, Kansas, and Minnesota. Here’s the kicker: his older brother Gene is already on Iowa’s roster as a 2026 offensive lineman commit. The Riordan brothers in Iowa City. The defensive line just got a massive shot of talent at a position of critical need.

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Position Group Breakdown: What Iowa Still Needs

The glaring holes are at quarterback, wide receiver, and defensive line. Iowa has zero offensive skill position commits so far — no quarterback, no running back, no receiver. That’s not unusual for April of the junior year, but it’s where the action will be this spring and summer.

Names To Watch & Upcoming Visits

Jake Nawrot, QB, Arlington Heights, IL (6-4, 200 lbs) — The No. 68 overall prospect and No. 6 quarterback nationally visited Iowa during spring practice on April 4 and had a “great” visit according to 247Sports. He completed 71% of his passes as a junior for 3,078 yards and 41 touchdowns. Nawrot is an Iowa legacy and the Hawks were once thought to lead. However, he committed to Kentucky over the weekend.

While that may seem like the door is shut, it’s important to remember we’re still a long way from signing day and things can change, especially at the QB position where Iowa had their guy in last year’s class locked in more than a year before signing day, only to have him decommit, commit to Indiana, decommit there and finally commit to Boise State less than a month after the Hawkeyes flipped Boise’s former QB Tradon Bessinger. Keep an eye on Nawrot as we close in on signing day.

Brayden Santibanez, QB, Collierville, TN (6-2.5, 205 lbs) — A three-star quarterback ranked No. 71 at the position who has locked in an official visit to Iowa for June 12-14. He received an offer from Iowa during a spring practice visit and scheduled his OV immediately after. Tim Lester is leading this recruitment.

Brady Scott has an official visit locked in for June 5-7 after being impressed during a December campus visit. Nate Brenneman (already committed) also has an OV scheduled for the same June 5-7 weekend, which will serve as his official.

The June official visit weekends are going to be massive for this class. Iowa traditionally does its heaviest recruiting lifting during these summer visits, and the combination of a new-look coaching staff and the basketball program’s March Madness run gives the Hawkeyes more buzz than they’ve had in years.

The Big Picture

Seven commits, ranked 28th nationally, and it’s only April. Iowa has locked down the in-state talent (four of seven commits are Iowans), expanded into Illinois and Ohio, and addressed key positions of need along both lines and at linebacker. The defensive pipeline is being restocked after losing six rotational D-linemen, and the offensive line factory is churning as always.

The next phase is all about skill positions. Iowa needs a quarterback in this class and Santibanez is a legitimate target. Wide receiver is the other big gap — Tim Lester’s offense needs playmakers on the outside and the Hawkeyes will need to balance the high school ranks with their recent portal additions.

For a program that has had at least one player drafted in every NFL Draft since 1978, the recruiting pipeline is the lifeblood. Ferentz and his staff are building this class the Iowa way — defense and offensive line first, then fill in the skill spots — and the early returns suggest 2027 could be a special class.

We’ll keep tracking commits, visits, and targets throughout the spring and summer. Stay tuned.

Go Hawks.