IOWA CITY — Oct. 25 of last year was a good day for Iowa football.
On multiple levels.
For one, Iowa blasted Minnesota. The Hawkeyes scored 34 points before the Golden Gophers even got on the board. The game finished with a lopsided 41-3 final score.
But it was also notable who was in attendance at the game at Kinnick Stadium. Tradon Bessinger, a high-profile high school quarterback, was on a recruiting visit to Iowa.
“They got them pretty well,” Bessinger recalled at Iowa football media day on Aug. 14. “It was a fun game to come to, obviously. It was the blackout game. I got to see the Wave to the children’s hospital. It’s such a special experience. I just loved watching the offense, and I loved talking to coach (Tim) Lester after the game.”
There was also an unexpected twist in Bessinger’s recruitment.
After the game, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur FaceTimed Lester, Iowa’s offensive coordinator, to congratulate him on the win. Lester, who was LaFleur’s college teammate at Western Michigan, briefly worked for the Packers as a senior analyst before taking the job at Iowa.
On that FaceTime call, Lester informed LaFleur that he was recruiting.
“You tell him if he wants to learn an NFL system, there’s no other place to go than to come play for you,” Lester recalled of LaFleur’s message on the ANF Podcast.
Lester’s response: “I was like, ‘Why don’t you tell him?’”
“He goes, ‘Take me inside,’” Lester said.
That’s how and NFL head coach ended up pitching Bessinger on going to Iowa.
“It’s awesome, right, to hear from a guy that known in football and that high up in football and stuff,” Bessinger said. “It’s obviously like, wow, this is definitely a trustworthy source right here. It was definitely a special moment.”
Exactly two weeks after Iowa’s win over Minnesota, Bessinger announced his commitment to the Hawkeyes, giving the program a prized quarterback prospect in the 2026 high school class.
Bessinger arrived at Iowa with an impressive resume. He was a four-star recruit and the 11th-ranked quarterback in his class nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite. Bessinger was the 2025 MaxPreps Utah High School Football Player of the Year after throwing for more than 4,300 yards and 53 touchdowns during his senior season.
“He’s different from the shoulder above,” Davis High School coach Scott Peery said. “His decision-making and the way he saw things, it was an ‘it’ factor about him, right? At practice, we’d watch him make some throws and players and coaches sometimes would look at each other like, ‘Oh my gosh, how do you do that?’”
It was not always a slam dunk that Bessinger would end up at Iowa, considering he was originally committed to Boise State, and the Hawkeyes already had a pledge of their own in the class at quarterback.
But Iowa was back on the market for a signal-caller when Cash Herrera decommitted from the Hawkeyes in June. Iowa GM/chief of staff Tyler Barnes wanted to remain patient and continue to evaluate options during the high school season.
“That was a tough one, because Boise State at the time, they had their hooks into him pretty good,” Barnes said in December. “… But the biggest thing was really trying to build that relationship. And then once we got him here (on campus), just as coach (Kirk Ferentz) says, once we can get a kid here, especially a quarterback or an offensive player and you put him in front of Tim (Lester), you feel pretty good about your chances.”
In Bessinger’s case, it worked.
“The first thing you need with Tim is time,” Barnes said. “Like, a lot of meeting time. Because Tim is going to talk a lot, which is one of his biggest strengths, and I’m not joking. I think he was with Tradon four and a half hours watching film and in the office. But that’s why guys love Tim, because his passion, his energy. If you can’t notice it and feel it, we’re definitely on the wrong guy.”
Clearly, Bessinger felt that on his end.
“He’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met,” Bessinger said of Lester. “He loves to joke, loves to have fun, and that’s the type of guy I am, as well.”
Traditionally, Iowa is not known for attracting highly touted quarterbacks. While Lester has gotten the offense in a much better place, the passing game has remained an obvious struggle. But Bessinger has belief in Lester.
“A big part of my recruiting was the trust in him (Lester) and saying that, yeah, I will pass the ball here and stuff,” Bessinger said. Like, ‘I know, Tradon, you’re a big guy and just pass, pass, pass.’ My high school rarely ran the ball. But I trust him, and I know that he’s going to make the right play call.”
Bessinger is part of a young core in Iowa’s quarterbacks room. Four of Iowa’s five quarterbacks have at least three seasons of eligibility remaining: Jeremy Hecklinski, Jimmy Sullivan, Ryan Fitzgerald and Bessinger.
Bessinger, who did not enroll early and is still very new to the program, got one drive of action during Kids Day at Kinnick. Though he didn’t do anything especially remarkable, it still wasn’t difficult to see his potential. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 213 pounds, Bessinger already has a mature frame for his age. During Kids Day, he lofted a beautiful pass to the end zone for what should’ve been a touchdown, but the receiver dropped it.
Because of his pedigree as a high schooler, Bessinger’s development at Iowa will be followed closely.
This is only just the beginning.
“Really positive,” Ferentz said of his impressions of Bessinger so far. “Good football mentality. He’s really serious, good learner. When the pressure is not on, he’s pretty good out there, looks pretty good. I say that, just when guys aren’t flying by his face and all that. But that’s part of the process. This is just invaluable time with him. His approach has been really good. He’s really curious and anxious to learn more and eager to learn more. It’s all good, all positive.”
Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Hawk Central: How Iowa football landed highly touted quarterback Tradon Bessinger
Reporting by Tyler Tachman, Des Moines Register / Hawk Central
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By Tyler Tachman, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
