Follow along as Iowa State announces each of its signees in the 2021 recruiting class. The Cyclones are expected to receive letters of intent from 20 prospects on Wednesday, including five players from the state of Iowa.
We’ll be updating this post as new signings come across the wire.
6:30 a.m. — The first new Cyclone is officially in and it is Florida tailback Deon Silas. Silas is considered the No. 11 all-purpose back in the country and No. 95 player in Florida by 247Sports.
The 5-foot-6, 170-pound Steinbrenner High product chose Iowa State over offers from TCU, Virginia, Coastal Carolina, West Virginia and others.
6:40 a.m. — The fax machine (do they still use those at this point?) is whirling again and this time it is for Ohio linebacker Myles Mendeszoon. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound Chardon, Ohio, native is considered the No. 54 weakside defensive end in the country and No. 41 player in Ohio by 247Sports. He will play linebacker at the collegiate level.
He chose Iowa State over offers from Bucknell and Georgetown. Each of the Cyclones’ first two recruits, and numerous others we’ll get to today, are expected to be early enrollees for the spring semester.
6:50 a.m. — The next arrival comes from north of the border.
Iowa State has received Canadian wide receiver Tristan Michaud’s letter of intent. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound pass-catcher is considered the No. 147 receiver in the country and No. 2 player in Ontario (you’re probably not wondering, but in case you are, the No. 1 guy is going to Kent State. I was definitely wondering).
Michaud’s only other publicly known offer was from Eastern Michigan, but he was also one of two players who committed on Feb. 1, 2020, to become the program’s earliest recruits in this class.
6:55 a.m. – Another letter, another Ohio linebacker.
Carston Marshall has officially signed with the Cyclones and the Wadsworth, Ohio, native is expected to be another early enrollee with the program. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound three-star prospect is considered the No. 40 outside linebacker in the country and No. 22 player in Ohio.
He chose Iowa State over offers from Akron, Army, Buffalo, Princeton, Toledo and Western Michigan.
7:20 a.m. — One of the nation’s most unique prospects has officially joined the Cyclones.
Kansas City defensive tackle Howard Brown has sent in his national letter of intent. The 6-foot-2, 288-pound three-star is considered the No. 27 defensive tackle in the class and No. 7 player in the state of Missouri.
Perhaps best known as the internet sensation who also starred as the quarterback of the Lincoln Prep team, in addition to his work on the defensive side, chose Iowa State over other offers from Kansas, Akron, Northern Illinois, Tulsa and several FCS schools, including Northern Iowa.
7:30 a.m. — Iowa State’s other Kansas City prospect has delivered his signature.
Wide receiver Jaylin Noel has signed his national letter of intent, officially locking in one of the Cyclones’ most highly-touted playmakers in this class. Noel is considered the No. 87 wide receiver in the class and No. 8 player in Missouri.
The 5-foot-11, 170-pound three-star out of Park Hill High chose Iowa State over Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and a host of other programs.
7:43 a.m. — The Cyclones’ first in-state prospect has made it official.
Grinnell offensive tackle Dodge Sauser’s national letter of intent has arrived in Ames, making him the first of five Iowa high school prospects expected to sign with the Cyclones on Wednesday. Sauser is considered the No. 122 offensive tackle prospect in the country and No. 20 player in the state of Iowa.
The 6-foot-4.5, 270-pound three-star chose Iowa State over Toledo, Northern Iowa and a few other FCS offers.
7:58 a.m. — Another in-state, and the class’ highest-rated, prospect is officially a Cyclone.
Johnston tight end Tyler Moore has signed his national letter of intent, giving the Cyclones another key addition to their already talent-laden tight ends room. Moore is considered the No. 28 tight end in the country and No. 10 player in the state of Iowa by 247Composite.
The 6-foot-4, 240-pound prospect rated as a four-star recruit by 247Sports, which considers him the No. 13 tight end and No. 6 player in Iowa, chose the Cyclones over offers from Boise State, Arizona State, New Mexico, Eastern Michigan and a handful of FCS schools.
8:06 a.m. — The only junior college prospect in Iowa State’s 2021 recruiting class has signed his letter of intent.
Blinn Junior College safety Ben Langston will officially be a Cyclone, joining former Blinn teammate Xavier Hutchinson in Ames. Langston is considered the No. 35 JUCO player in the country and No. 2 JUCO safety in the class by 247Composite.
The 6-foot-2, 170-pound prospect chose Iowa State over an offer from Missouri.
8:17 a.m. — Another in-state offensive lineman is signed, sealed and delivered.
Dubuque native Jim Bonifas is the latest Iowa high school product to sign on the dotted line and join Iowa State’s 2021 recruiting class. Bonifas is considered the No. 79 offensive tackle in the class and No. 18 player in the state of Iowa.
The 6-foot-5, 255-pound multiple-time all-stater out of Dubuque Senior chose Iowa State over offers from Louisville, Northern Illinois and South Dakota State.
8:45 a.m. — While I was editing part one of Jeff Woody’s two-part series previewing the Big 12 title game (which you should definitely read right here because it is awesome and well done), Iowa State officially added two more of its 2021 signees.
The first was Texas defensive end Jayden Gray. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Haslet, Texas, native is considered the No. 68 weak-side defensive end in the class and No. 177 player in Texas.
He chose Iowa State over offers from 12 other programs, including Army, Northwestern, Virginia Tech and Air Force.
The second was the latest addition from a familiar family in North Scott defensive end Joey Petersen, the younger brother of current Cyclone defensive end Zach Petersen and son of two-time All-Big Eight Cyclone defensive lineman Troy Petersen.
The younger Petersen earned all-state honors after compiling 47.5 tackles and 13 tackles for loss as a senior and leading North Scott to a Class 3A state championship. Iowa State was his only offer.
8:53 a.m. — Alright, they’re starting to come fast and furious now. Guessing it will not be much longer before all of Iowa State’s 2021 signees have been announced.
The most recent announcement is Chicago linebacker Aidan Ralph. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound three-star is considered the No. 116 outside linebacker prospect in the country and No. 44 player in Illinois.
Iowa State was the De La Salle Institute product’s only offer. He racked up 84 tackles and 14.0 tackles for loss during his senior season while earning All-Chicago Catholic League honors in 2019 (Illinois did not play high school football this fall due to the pandemic).
9:04 a.m. — Another member of Eli Rasheed’s chain gang has officially joined the Cyclones.
Texas defensive lineman Tyler Onyedim has signed his national letter of intent to join the Iowa State program. The Richmond, Texas, native is considered the No. 74 defensive tackle in the country and No. 198 player in Texas.
He chose Iowa State over 18 other offers, including Boston College, Colorado State, Virginia Tech and Hawaii.
9:17 a.m. — Ohio athlete Malik Verdon has signed and only five of Iowa State’s commits entering the day remain unsigned at this point.
Verdon is considered the No. 52 athlete in the country and No. 29 player in Ohio by 247Compoiste. The 6-foot-3.5, 205-pound Hamilton, Ohio, native is the Cyclones’ third highest-rated prospect in this class.
Verdon chose Iowa State over offers from Florida, Kentucky, Pittsburgh, West Virginia and others.
9:25 a.m. — The latest addition to Iowa State’s batch of pre-signing day commitments has made it official.
Davenport Assumption offensive tackle Tyler Maro, one of the most hotly-contested in-state recruits, has signed his national letter of intent with Iowa State. The 6-foot-7, 260-pound three-star is considered the No. 52 offensive tackle in the country and No. 13 player in Iowa.
Maro chose Iowa State over 35 other college programs, including a host of Power 5 schools in Arizona State, Cal, Duke, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas State, Louisville, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, UCLA and Utah.
9:36 a.m. — Apparently, they are awake in the mountains.
Colorado safety Beau Freyler has made his signing to Iowa State football official. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Colorado Springs native is considered the No. 81 safety in the country and No. 10 prospect in the state of Colorado.
Freyler chose Iowa State over offers from 22 other schools, including Arizona, Boston College, Kansas State, Nebraska, Washington State and Wisconsin.
