Iowa State Re-Offers Class of 2028 OL Trying To Catch Kansas

A Class of 2028 offenisve lineman has received an offer from the Iowa State Cyclones.

Dec 11, 2025; Ames, Iowa, USA; Iowa State Cyclones new football coach Jimmy Rogers speaks during the Cyclones game with the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first half at James H. Hilton Coliseum. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones football team is looking to make up for lost time when it comes to high school recruiting.

Because of where on the calendar that Jimmy Rogers was hired to take over as head coach from Matt Campbell, the team is lagging behind the competition when it comes to future recruiting classes.

So much attention and energy had to be put into solidifying the 2026 roster that the Cyclones are behind. But, they are looking to make up ground during spring practices, where they have been offering plenty of recruits.

Most recently, an offer was made to Class of 2028 offensive lineman Reese Wilmes. He shared the news himself on his X account, revealing how positive his visit to Ames went.

Iowa State makes offer to Reese Wilmes

Iowa State offensive line coach Jake Thornton talks to media during a media opportunity at Stark Performance center on Feb. 11, 2026, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“Had an AMAZING time in Ames yesterday! After a GREAT conversation with @ISURogers3 I’m excited to say that I’ve received an offer to play football at Iowa State University!,” Wilmes wrote in the post.

A product of Lawrence Free State in Lawrence, Kansas, it should come as no surprise that Iowa State is looking to chase down their rivals from the Big 12, the Kansas Jayhawks and Kansas State Wildcats, in the pursuit of Wilmes.

According to Rivals Predictions, Kansas currently has the best odds of landing the talented offensive lineman with 35.7%. Kansas State is second on the list at 23.8%, with the Cyclones being third at 20.4%.

There is a little bit of a gap between those three and the rest of the competition. In fourth place is the Nebraska Cornhuskers with 11.7%. The Indiana Hoosiers are 6.4%, while the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Missouri Tigers are both 1.1%.

Had an AMAZING time in Ames yesterday! After a GREAT conversation with @ISURogers3 I’m excited to say that I’ve received an offer to play football at Iowa State University! @CoachThornton61 @CoachCox65 @andy_lucas98 @CycloneFB @coachDJLynn @FSFirebirdFB @CoachKStew23 pic.twitter.com/e8wHEmXwST

— Reece Wilmes (@Reece_Wilmes) April 21, 2026

Listed at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, Wilmes certainly looks the part of a dominant interior offensive lineman. Already with seven offers in hand, and at least four more teams showing some level of interest, that number of scholarship offers will assuredly increase in the coming months as he takes visits and starts ramping up for his junior year of high school.

Wilmes is currently a three-star recruit. Rivals thinks highly of him with an 89 rating, putting him at No. 229 overall and the No. 14 interior lineman in the Class of 2028. Amongst players in Kansas, he is ranked No. 3.

Rogers and offensive line coach Jake Thornton are certainly going to have their work cut out for them securing a commitment from someone being pursued by so many programs.

The Cyclones are still looking for their first commit in the Class of 2028 and have five for the Class of 2027.