Vote: Who is the 2025 Iowa High School Football Class 4A Preseason Player of the Year?

We are fast-approaching opening week of the Iowa high school football season, as the best players in the state collide under the Friday Night Lights.

High School Sports On SI Iowa has already asked you to vote for the top coaches of the year, so now we turn our attention to the best players.

We have done our best to compile a balanced list of the best players in each classification of Iowa high school football for your consideration as to who should be the preseason player of the year.

Voting will end on Sunday, August 24 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time.

Here are the nominations for the Class 4A Iowa Preseason Player of the Year in 2025:

Emmanuel Diers, Pella

All Pella did last year was make sure to find ways to get Emmanuel Diers the ball. And all Diers did was produce when they did, as he ran for 1,112 yards and 13 touchdowns while also catching 45 passes for 502 and two more scores. Diers averaged 7.2 yards per rush and over 11 yards per catch while also making 20 tackles, recording a pick-6 and averaging 22 yards per kickoff return.

Carter Hoffmann, Cedar Rapids Xavier

One of the top running backs in the state last year, Carter Hoffmann returns having rushed for 1,278 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging 6.5 yards per carry. He also threw a touchdown pass and caught 23 passes for almost 200 yards and another score.

Caden Klein, Newton

Caden Klein was an excellent dual-threat quarterback last year for the Cardinals, rushing for 1,126 yards while throwing for another 1,445. He had 14 rushing scores and eight in the air, and could see his numbers really take off after a year of experience on the field.

Conlan Poynton, Clear Creek-Amana

The Clippers geared their offense around Conlan Poynton, and he delivered. Poynton threw for over 1,200 yards with 12 touchdowns, completing 70 percent of his passes. He also ran 185 times for 901 yards with 16 more trips to the end zone.

Hudson Shull, ADM

There was no letdown for Tigers even after losing some key pieces to graduation last fall, and most of that was because of the play of Hudson Shull. Shull threw for 1,363 yards and ran for 1,168, tossing 13 TD passes while running in 18 more scores.

Leonardo Tatum, Lewis Central

He will have a new quarterback throwing to him this season, but Leonardo Tatum should still produce big numbers. As a sophomore, he caught 27 passes for 741 yards and 11 touchdowns, averaging over 27 yards per catch. Tatum also ran for 50 yards on just six carries while recording 34 tackles on defense with four interceptions and two fumble recoveries. He also handled return duties, averaging 33 per kickoff and 11 per punt.

Dreshaun Ross, Fort Dodge

A three-time state wrestling champion who is committed to Oklahoma State and David Taylor, Dreshaun Ross missed his junior football season recovering from surgery. As a sophomore, he ran for 729 yards with eight touchdowns while making 61.5 tackles with 11 for loss on defense.

Nate Warner, Pella

The anchor to the Pella defense will be Nate Warner, as he is coming off a season in which he recorded 109.5 tackles, 89 of which were solo stops. Warner also had 10.5 tackles for loss and a sack while recovering a fumble and recording a pick-6.

Editor’s Note: Our corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. This poll is specifically for fans to vote on the nominees and in no way discredits any other players, coaches or teams that may not be mentioned in the poll.

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