Iowa State hosted highly touted 2026 quarterback prospect Nathan Bernhard on a visit during Saturday’s season opener against North Dakota.
The Ashland, Ohio native is now a four-star prospect by the 247 Sports composite rating, and chose to kick off his visit schedule with a trip to Ames this week.
“It was good to be out there and keep building a relationship with the coaches and everything,” Bernhard said. “They’re good people there. The culture there is great – that’s something they really have going for them. It’s good to go there and see their coaching style and everything and see the game atmosphere.”
The 6-foot-5, 230-pound prospect holds offers from Louisville, Missouri, West Virginia, Penn State, Duke, Indiana, Michigan State, Toledo and Akron, alongside Iowa State.
Bernhard wanted to check out Jack Trice Stadium, making his first game day visit to Ames as he starts his junior year of high school.
“The fact that they were playing North Dakota and there was still a packed house – still over 60,000 people there,” Bernhard said. “That shows that the people there care. There will be people there for the big games, but there’s actually people there for every game and actually a supportive fan base.”
The young quarterback prospect has visits scheduled for Louisville this week in their matchup with Jacksonville State and Missouri when they face Boston College the week after.
Bernhard’s primary recruiter in Ames is quarterbacks coach Jake Waters.
“He’s a great guy – he’s played the position and then he’s also an Iowa guy,” Bernhard said. “He seems like he wants to stay in Iowa. He’s been at Iowa State for quite a few years – there’s some coach stability there not just with him, but with the whole staff really.”
The staff’s stability is a sticking point for Bernhard.
“It’s not something that I’d necessarily be picky for, because it’s not really common in today’s game – but it is something that sticks out for them that’s different for a lot of other places,” Bernhard said.
He says that he won’t narrow down his choices in programs until after the end of the season, but Iowa State is remains square in the mix as it searches for its quarterback commit for the class.
