Iowa State Football ‘Sticks Out the Most’ for Class of 2027 Safety

A Class of 2027 safety has kept in contact with the Iowa State Cyclones.

Iowa State safety coach Pete Menage talks to media during the football defensive coaches media opportunity at the university’s Stark Performance Center on Feb. 13, 2026, in Ames , Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones have done a great job of securing some commitments from players in the Class of 2027 despite the circumstances they are working with.

When Jimmy Rogers took over as head coach, all of his focus was on ensuring the roster for 2026 was ready to go after 50+ players entered the transfer portal. It put them behind the eight-ball with high school recruiting, but they have done a good job of getting back on track.

More work will be done in the coming weeks when official visits start, and one player the Cyclones would love to bring to Ames is safety Dontrell Young. A three-star player, he has not yet been offered by Iowa State, but they are keeping close contact with him, along with the Illinois Fighting Illini.

“There are multiple but one that sticks out the most is Iowa State,” Young said, via Allen Trieu of Rivals (subscription required). “They have been in contact with me and have come to see me workout. Illinois has also came to see me workout just recently.”

Iowa State showing interest in Dontrell Young

Jan 2, 2021; Glendale, AZ, USA; Detailed view of an Iowa State Cyclones helmet during the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

While not known too much on a national level, that could soon change. An unheralded football prospect, his name is going to start garnering a lot more attention because of how successful he is on the track.

The Oswego High School product recently ran a 10.46 in the 100 and 21.16 in the 200, which is going to catch the eyes of football recruiters. That kind of speed can certainly translate to the gridiron, where most of the interest in Young is currently coming from Group of 5 and FCS programs.

But that is seemingly changing with the Cyclones and Fighting Illini being the first Power Conference programs to show interest in him, and they would love to see him participate in one of the camps.

“Iowa State and Illinois want me to get on campus for a camp. As of right now I will be going to the North Central Mega Camp June 1st,” Young added.

Had a great meet today here are some of my times! #AGTG

100m-10.46
200m-21.16
400m-47.96@offsznbrand @EDGYTIM @PrepRedzoneIL pic.twitter.com/hBJlIPx63P

— Dontrell Young (@DontrellYoung9) May 22, 2026

Right now, he has five offers in hand, and the Northern Illinois Huskies are listed as a team that has been in contact. He also has three official visits set up for June.

He will be going to Miami (OH) RedHawks on June 5-7, the Central Michigan Chippewas on June 11-13 and last but not least, the North Dakota State Bison on June 16-18.

The Cyclones will have some ground to make up to chase down those teams in Young’s recruitment, but an offer from Rogers and safeties coach Pete Menage could certainly help swing the tide of momentum in their favor.