The Iowa Football coaching staff continues recruiting ahead of fall camp and the 2025 season. Iowa has nine players committed for the 2026 recruiting class, all on the offensive side of the football.
Five of nine recruits are on the offensive line, including four-star prospects Carson Nielsen, Hudson Parliament, and Gene Riordan, and three-star prospects Owen Linder and Colin Whitters.
Over the past week, multiple recruits narrowed down their colleges choices and have Iowa as a preferred destination.
Jermaine Polk, defensive line
Jermaine Polk, a six-foot-three, 279-pound defensive lineman, has Iowa on his top five list of preferred destinations.
Polk is a Toledo, Ohio, native and plays football for St. Francis De Sales High School. On3 Sports ranked Polk a three-star prospect, and the No. 89 defensive line (No. 1,032 overall) prospect in the 2026 recruiting class.
If Polk commits to the Hawkeyes, he would be the first defensive player to join the Hawkeyes in the 2026 recruiting class.
Djidjou Bah, defensive line
Djidjou Bah is a six-foot-three, 253-pound defensive line prospect from Tennessee. He narrowed his college choices to eight and added Iowa to his list.
Bah attends Germantown High School in Germantown, Tennessee, and is ranked as a three-star prospect by 247 Sports, and unranked by On3 Sports.
247 Sports ranks Bah as the No. 60 prospect in Tennessee and the No. 148 defensive line prospect.
Nick Hankins Jr., defensive back
Nick Hankins Jr., a 2026 defensive back prospect, narrowed his college list to five, and Iowa made the list. Hankins Jr. is a six-foot-one, 191-pound cornerback who plays for Belleville West High School in Belleville, Illinois.
On3 Sports ranked Hankins Jr. as a four-star prospect and the No. 20 cornerback prospect (No. 196 overall) in the 2026 recruiting class.
On3 Sports is higher on Hankins Jr., giving him a four-star rating, whereas 247 Sports, ESPN, and Rivals have given him a three-star rating.
All three 2026 prospects would make solid additions to Iowa's recruiting class. According to On3 Sports, Iowa is No. 6 in the Big Ten (No. 23 nationally) for its 2026 class.