Iowa Football: A look at the Hawkeyes’ five commits in the 2025 class

Carson Cooney (@CarsonCooney) / X

Iowa football is off to a great start in the 2025 class.

The Hawkeyes have five commitments in this class, with three coming on the offensive side of the ball, and two coming on defense.

Iowa wants to continue to add to this class over the next couple of months, but the foundation is there at this point, and the Hawkeyes are hoping they can continue to grow at a good rate.

Per 247Sports, Iowa’s 2025 class is ranked No. 19 overall nationally and No. 5 in the Big Ten.

Today, we’ll take a look at the five commitments in the 2025 class for Iowa, and what their additions mean to the class at this point.

High School: Pleasant Valley (Bettendorf, Iowa)

Commit Date: July 1, 2023

Rusty VanWetzinga settles in at Iowa

Stars: 3-stars

Position Rank: No. 74

Recruitment: VanWetzinga had a quick recruitment. The two-way standout picked up an offer from Iowa following a strong camp performance in June, and then committed to the Hawkeyes a few weeks later. He also had strong interest from Illinois and Wisconsin, but the Hawkeyes were the only one to offer, and he didn’t see any reason to drag out his recruitment.

Outlook: VanWetzinga camped at Iowa as a defensive and offensive lineman, but the Hawkeyes likely project him to play on the offensive line. VanWetzinga seems to be the perfect mold for the Hawkeyes to play on the interior of the offensive line, specifically the center position. VanWetzinga has the ideal frame to play center, with the right amount of toughness and moxie. He is a physical, hard-nosed football player who plays with great pad level. Iowa has Logan Jones and Tyler Elsbury as upperclassmen at the center position, while Leighton Jones is in the mix coming off his freshman campaign, along with the potential for Josh Janowski, an early enrollee in the 2024 class, to play guard or center in the future.

Scouting Notes: “For me VanWetzinga is a clear center projection at the next level. While he might lack the length and prototypical height some schools are looking for on the offensive line, the 2025 Iowa commit more than makes up for it with his strong hands and ability to trigger his feet quickly and make fluid redirections in space. VanWetzinga’s ability to move laterally and climb to the second level are evident on tape and that is where we see his credentialed wrestling background and two way snaps as a defensive lineman come into play. Will need to add plenty of mass before making his way on to the field.” – 247Sports’ Hudson Standish

LB BURKE GAUTCHER

Burke Gautcher (@burke_gautcher) / X

High School: Sycamore (Sycamore, Ill.)

Commit Date: Oct. 15, 2023

Stars: 3-stars

Position Rank: No. 23 athlete

Recruitment: Gautcher saw his recruitment take off this summer, but three schools seemed to emerge from the pack. Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota were all making a major push for Gautcher, though it seemed that the Illini and Hawkeyes were the ones who had the most traction with him. Gautcher took a fall visit to Iowa City, and then committed to the Hawkeyes a few weeks later. Iowa linebackers coach Seth Wallace played a major role in this recruitment, and the fact that Iowa has produced the amount of linebackers it has in recent years was key for Gautcher, too.

Outlook: Gautcher is a high school safety and quarterback. There are shades of Cooper DeJean with how he plays the quarterback position, although he’s not the open field athlete that DeJean was in high school. Still, there are a lot of qualities that make Gautcher an intriguing addition for Iowa at the linebacker position, and the Hawkeyes were thrilled with getting his commitment early in the process. Gautcher will need some time to mold as a linebacker in college, but the athletic qualities bring a lot of optimism, along with his ability to play in the open field. Iowa has a number of talented young linebackers coming up, especially in the 2024 class with Cam Buffington, Derek Weisskopf, and Preston Ries. Gautcher could be a factor with that group, and could project to any three of the linebacker positions.

Scouting Notes: “Burke is what you look for in a linebacker prospect. He’s a multi-positional athlete and we see a lot of high level linebackers who convert over. What you worry about with that is physicality but he plays with that and has the frame to get bigger and stronger. I think he’s a really good fit and is the kind of guy Iowa has developed in the past.” – 247Sports’ Allen Trieu

QB JIMMY SULLIVAN

Jimmy Sullivan Commits to Iowa Football - Sports Illustrated Iowa Hawkeyes News, Analysis and More

High School: Carroll (Ft. Wayne, Ind.)

Commit Date: Dec. 16, 2023

Stars: 3-stars

Position Rank: No. 51 quarterback

Recruitment: Sullivan was a big win for Iowa in the 2025 class and early in the cycle. Minnesota was the first power-five offer for Sullivan and the Gophers made him a big priority. A couple of MAC schools offered, then Iowa hosted Sullivan for a gameday visit in the fall, and offered there. After that, Illinois and Michigan State offered. It came down to Iowa and Minnesota for Sullivan, but the Hawkeyes were able to land him. The new staff at Michigan State has since offered Sullivan, but he appears to be all-in with Iowa.

Outlook: Sullivan is a mobile quarterback with good instincts on the football field, and is also a capable thrower. Iowa appears to be looking for a new type of quarterback. The Hawkeyes are going away from traditional pocket passers. However, new Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester has said that the Hawkeyes are looking at efficiency and effectiveness over mobility, and mobility is just an added bonus. Sullivan can scoot, as he posted 40-yard dash times of 4.58 and 4.6 this past summer. It’ll be interesting to see how he fits into the quarterback competition in the next couple of years. Iowa has promising young talent such as Marco Lainez III and James Resar in addition to Sullivan that all bring a little something different to the table.

Scouting Notes: “Sullivan has some wheels to him. In his junior highlight film, Sullivan showed the ability to get upfield whether it be in RPO situations, broken plays, or quarterback draws. Sullivan was clocked at 4.58 and 4.6 in the 40-yard dash this summer at Notre Dame’s camp and he did have 406 rushing yards this past season to go along with five rushing touchdowns. Sullivan’s completion percentage took a dip from his sophomore to junior season, but he shows on film that he can fit the ball into tight windows, knows how to get his receivers open with ball placement, and can also hit on intermediate and deep routes. He shows that he can go through progressions, read defenses, and do so in Indiana’s biggest classification. Yes, the accuracy numbers are a little concerning, but I think there are a lot of tools there that make sense for Iowa to get him in the class.”

LB CARSON COONEY

High School: Oswego (Oswego, Ill.)

Commit Date: Feb. 3, 2024

Stars: 3-stars

Position Rank: No. 55

Recruitment: Iowa went two-for-two in landing linebackers in the 2025 class that Illinois and a number of other Big Ten programs wanted. The Hawkeyes were not the first Big Ten offer for Cooney, as Illinois was the first to come calling. Cooney took his time with his decision, and the Hawkeyes offered him in November following a visit to his school. Since that offer, Cooney also added offers from Michigan State, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Indiana, and a slew of other programs. It seemed to come down to Iowa and Illinois, though the Hawkeyes were able to win out.

Outlook: Iowa loves what its getting in Cooney and feels that he and Gautcher could be a great pair with the current young linebackers in the room. Cooney is a physical, downhill linebacker who can also play in space, and attack the gaps. To me, Cooney seems to be more of a MIKE down the line, but I could also see him playing inside linebacker. He is a coach’s kid, and has great instincts on the field that will translate well to the linebacker position for Iowa.

TE THOMAS MEYER

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High School: Clear Lake (Clear Lake, Iowa)

Commit Date: Feb. 4, 2024

Stars: 4-stars

Position Rank: No. 10 tight end

Recruitment: Meyer picked Iowa following a junior day visit to Iowa City earlier this month. The Hawkeyes were always a top school for Meyer, but that visit to Iowa City sealed the deal. Meyer was also heavily considering Iowa State, while offers from Texas A&M, Duke, Miami (FL), Missouri, and a number of other power-five programs and Big Ten schools came for him. It came down to Iowa and Iowa State, but the Hawkeyes were able to win out.

Outlook: Meyer was a must-get for Iowa in this class. The Hawkeyes have missed out on numerous top tight end targets from the state of Iowa in previous classes, so keeping a prospect like Meyer in-state was important. Meyer joins a loaded tight end room in Iowa City that is full with a lot of talent, though Meyer have the highest ceiling of the bunch. Meyer has great size for the position with athletic traits that will help raise his ceiling as a prospect. He’s going to a program that knows the tight end position better than anyone, and that’ll help his stock and long-term development a lot, too.

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Scouting Notes: “Unverified size believed to be hovering around 6-foot-5, 210 pounds. Owns a developmentally friendly frame that should be able to quickly stack weight in a collegiate strength and conditioning program while retaining the athletic traits that make him a Top247 prospect. Two-time All-State selection on the defensive line but likely a higher ceiling on the offensive side of the ball at tight end. Routinely makes spectacular leaping grabs where he uses his All-Conference basketball background to snatch the ball out of the air at its highest point. Showcases promising movement ability in the open field and can make opposing defenders whiff on tackles with his agility and cut-stacking prowess or by finishing catches with physicality to gain extra yards. One of the better jumbo pass-catchers early in the 2025 recruiting cycle at hauling in contested catches in traffic. Primarily lines up as an attached in-line tight end at the high school level and made a jump from his sophomore to junior season as a blocker. Promising movement skills translate as a blocker in space and improved significantly as a junior when it comes to hand placement on both sides of the ball. Should be viewed as a potential impact player at the Power Five level with serious long-term NFL Draft upside.” – 247Sports’ Hudson Standish