Published Dec 4, 2024
Iowa State Announces 2025 Recruiting Class
Iowa State Athletics Communications
Special to Cyclone Report

AMES, Iowa - Iowa State head football coach Matt Campbell announced the addition of 19 early signees from the high school ranks during the early signing period on Wednesday.

The class features 10 offensive players and nine defensive players who will join Iowa State from nine different states.

For the third-straight year, Iowa State signed the top quarterback in the state of Iowa, adding Algona High School’s Alex Manske to the roster.

A priority for Campbell and his staff has always been recruiting players from winning programs and this year was no different.

“We’re really excited about the class coming in,” Campbell said. “The staples, and what we’ve always believed in, we didn’t waiver from those. This class has guys that are winners, that come from great high school football programs and our coaches did a great job recruiting within a six hour radius of our doorstep. We wanted to continue to find guys that fit what Iowa State is about and I think we did that.”

The Cyclones signed six of the top-10 players in Iowa, led by Will Hawthorne, a four-star linebacker from Gilbert, Iowa. Manske is a four-star recruit by On3 and is ranked No. 42 nationally, the highest-ranked Big 12 recruit by that outlet.

Other recruits from the state of Iowa include Spirit Lake’s athlete Ethan Stecker, Cedar Falls’ offensive lineman Will Tompkins, Des Moines’ wide receiver Zay Robinson, Manske’s Algona teammate Jack Limbaugh, a defensive lineman and three-time state champion wide receiver Sam Zelenovich from Southeast Polk.

The class is well balanced with four wide receivers and four defensive backs, in addition to four players on both the offensive and defensive line.