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ISU's 2022 class off and running with commit from borderline 4-star

Already with great momentum coming off the greatest season in program history, a New Years Six Bowl game victory and Sunday commitment from heralded 2021 running back recruit Eli Sanders, ISU got its next recruiting class rolling on Thursday morning with a commitment from one of the top 2022 in-state prospects.

Sergeant Bluff-Luton linebacker Jacob Imming, the #6 ranked overall recruit in Iowa for next year, gave the coaching staff the news last night prior to announcing on his Twitter account this morning. He is the Cyclones' first known recruit in the 2022 class. He chose Iowa State over Power-5 offers from Iowa, Kansas State and Nebraska.

“I’m hearing from their whole staff, front to back,” said Imming in an interview with Cyclone Report in late-January. “They continue to build great relationships with all their recruits, especially me. I’ve noticed that they reach out a lot and ask how I’m doing…a lot of things that just show they really care about their recruits."

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As a junior, Imming played a vital role on both sides of the ball. As a linebacker, he recorded 49.5 tackles, 7.5 tackles-for-loss and one sack. Offensively, he caught 30 passes for 502 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns. He also rushed nine times for 75 yards and two more scores.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Imming said the staff envisions him playing one of three spots in the 3-3-5 defense employed by coordinator Jon Heacock.

“They have three linebacker positions and said my skill set fits all three of those,” he said. “That would be more opportunities to get on the field. They really think that I can have an impact on their team early.

“(The current linebackers) all weigh 30 to 40 more pounds than I do right now and are all fluent in their motions, which come over time. My skill set fits into what they’re looking for, so that’s how they’ve been recruiting me. They know I can run sideline to sideline and accelerate through contact…all of the things you need to play at today’s linebacker spot.”

A high three-star recruit with a 5.7 Rivals rating, Imming is considered the 12th inside linebacker nationally.

While the Cyclones were not able to host Imming for a game day visit this past season, the in-state linebacker took it upon himself to watch them up close and personal during a historic 2020 as he traveled to Ames and bought a ticket for the West Virginia game.

“It was really unique and different because there weren’t many fans there,” he said. "Even though there were 15 to 20,000 there, it felt packed. They have a great fan base at Iowa State and everyone believes in their program. It was a really cool experience. It was too bad I couldn’t go into the facilities and do all that cool stuff, but that’ll come at another time.”

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