College football’s early signing day is over for Iowa State football and we’ve got grades for the team.
The Cyclones concluded early signing day after going 8-4 in 2025, falling short of their College Football Playoff and Big 12 title hopes, but secured some memorable moments along the way. With that came another solid recruiting class to continue building for the future for coach Matt Campbell.
Here is the report card for Iowa State’s 2026 recruiting haul:
Rankings from 247Sports Composite. No walk-ons were included on the list.
Quarterback: B+
Evans has been incredibly productive in high school, throwing for over 11,000 yards and 120 touchdowns for Lexington High School. Coming from a family of athletes, he has the ability to grow into a great signal caller for the Cyclones.
Running back: B
Iowa State’s success on offense often starts and stops at this position. Francois doesn’t hold any FBS offers other than Iowa State, but his success as a quarterback and running back (2,055 rushing yards as a senior) suggests they may have found something others overlooked.
Pass catchers: A
The Cyclones went in-depth for pass matchers in the 2026 class. Roberts is the stand-out, helping lead Dowling Catholic to a Class 5A state title after transferring from Ames.
Offensive line: B+
Cyclones went big here, literally. All four signees are 6-foot-5 or taller, with Winder being 6-foot-8. Bandhauer is also the son of former Iowa State quarterback Todd Bandhauer.
Defensive line: B+
Reeder will be the one to watch from a deep class of linemen. He had eight sacks in his senior season rushing off the edge.
Linebackers: B
A pair of linebackers from the Cornhusker state make up the class. Kaiser’s stats will jump off the page to anyone, racking up 111 tackles and two interceptions this past season.
Defensive backs: A-
The Cyclones found a host of guys who have a knack for making a play on the ball. Chatman had four interceptions in his high school career, while Duncan has had five in the last two years. Zayas and Williams have each had nine interceptions over the course of their varsity careers.
Special teams: A
Tenbrock is rated the No. 5 recruit in the 2026 class by the 247Sports Composite. Getting a star punter would be a heck of an asset to flip the field when needed.
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State recruiting grades, how 2026 class stacks up on signing day
Reporting by Eli McKown, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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