Dual Threat Star Commits to Iowa

Despite all eyes being on the Class of 2027, 2026 graduate Eli Kampman was still a big name on the market.

Now, the Iowa Hawkeyes know he'll be coming to play for them. The move makes sense as Kampman's father, Aaron, was a former defensive lineman on this Hawkeyes team.

Nonetheless, Kampman heads to Iowa fresh off a senior season where he lit up the field as a quarterback. The Hawkeyes have their fair share of QBs, so Kampman will be playing safety.

It's not like the Solon High Schooler has no experience playing on defense, that's far from the truth. Standing 6'2'' 196-pounds, Kampman was a First Team All-State player and his duties as a defensive back were a huge reason for that.

Eli Kampman Commits To Iowa

2026 QB/DB out of Solon, Eli Kampman has committed to Iowa, per his Instagram. He's the son of former Iowa DL, Aaron Kampman.

This season for the Spartans, he completed 145/236 passes (61.4%) for 2,230 yards and 29 TDs. Also took 125 carries for 488 and 5 scores. pic.twitter.com/QkuUIoPh3E
— Eliot Clough (@EliotClough) February 4, 2026

Kampman took to Instagram to announce his commitment on February 4. Iowa already had a stellar Class of 2026, but this is an extremely late addition that will only further strengthen their chances of making a run in 2027 and beyond.

While the Iowa native could've easily tried to play QB elsewhere, he knew his best shot at winning and continuing to evolve as a defensive player was with Phil Parker. Parker fully recognized what Kampman did at the high school level wasn't human, and this team will be asking him to make the full-time switch to defense.

In his first year as a starting quarterback, Kampman had 35 total touchdowns (29 passing) with 2,718 total yards. If that's not impressive enough, he tallied 27 tackles on defense, 21 of which were solo. His numbers don't stop there though as he forced two fumbles and recorded two interceptoins, one of which he returned for a touchdown.

Black & Gold in the Blood

Black & Gold in the blood.@EliKamp11 x #Swarm26 pic.twitter.com/cND5Gw0bt9
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) February 4, 2026

To steal a catchphrase from Iowa's social media team, Aaron playing for the Hawkeyes certainly helped this team recruit his son. The Cedar Rapids native went on to have a lengthy career in the NFL, most of which with the Green Bay Packers. Knowing his father was drafted No. 156 overall after starting his career at Iowa, the sky truly is the limit for Eli.

Kampman, for the first time in his career, can focus on just playing one element of the game. Iowa knows they're fine at the QB position and the last thing they want to do is ask Kampman to be a Travis Hunter style player. While he certainly has the abilities to play wide receiver and defensive back, Parker will place Kampman in the secondary and see how things go with him as a full-time safety.

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