Iowa Hawkeyes Star Freshman Receives Major Hype

A star freshman defender for the Iowa Hawkeyes has received major hype.

Evan Massey | Feb 8, 2025

Oct 14, 2023; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; General view of Iowa Hawkeyes helmets prior to the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

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Iowa Hawkeyes

The Iowa Hawkeyes have some great talent coming in through their 2025 recruiting class. Kirk Ferentz and company are especially excited by one of the players they were able to land.

Iose Epenesa is by far the best recruit that Iowa was able to sign. He has legitimate superstar potential for the future and some even think he could be better than his brother, A.J. Epenesa, who has gone on to play in the NFL.

Of course, the older Epenesa played his college football career with the Hawkeyes as well.

There are a lot of eyes round the nation on Epenesa as he gets ready to start his Iowa career. He is going to bring a lot of attention to a football program that is trying to get back into Big Ten contention.

Epenesa most recently received some major hype from ESPN.

"Following his brother, Bills defensive lineman A.J. Epenesa, to Iowa, the bar is high, but Iose has the tools to handle those comparisons," they wrote. "The younger Epenesa, No. 29 in the ESPN 300, has demonstrated a nice blend of quickness and power, while also using his hands well. His understanding of leverage, motor and instincts suggests he can become a well-rounded defender with the tools to set the edge as well as harass quarterbacks. Comparisons will always exist between the two brothers, but don't be surprised if Iose establishes himself early and has an even stronger freshman season than his older brother."

That last sentence really shows just how much is being expected of Epenesa.

247 Sports ranked Epenesa as the No. 5 defensive lineman in the nation and gave him the No. 36 overall ranking in the entire 2025 recruiting class. Bringing him onboard was a big recruiting win for the Hawkeyes and could help them sell future recruits.

An intriging comparison was made for Epenesa. He was compared to Ohio State Buckeyes star defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau, who is widely expected to be a first or possibly second round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

If he can reach that level of play, Iowa is going to be in a very good place defensively. He is going to become the centerpiece of the Hawkeyes' defense before long, possibly even as early as the 2025 season.

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Published Feb 8, 2025

EVAN MASSEY

Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst who covers college football, the NFL and NBA. He has contributed to the On SI network since July 2021. He has also written for ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, NFLAnalysis.net, NBAAnalysis.net and many other publications. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son.