Gilbert High School linebacker Will Hawthorne was upgraded to a four-star prospect by 247 Sports Monday.
Less than 48 hours later, the local product made his lifelong dream come true, signing to play division 1 football with the program he grew up watching down the street.
“I actually spent a lot of time – it was between Iowa State and Nebraska,” Hawthorne said. “It was just it being home. It’s different being on a team as a random from Iowa compared to ‘Will Hawthorne from up the street.’ The fans will know my family and will know me a little bit better, and being able to play in front of your home town and the stadium you spent so much time in growing up, it’s just different.”
Hawthorne garnered a number of high major offers, ultimately picking the Cyclones over Nebraska.
His other offers came from Kansas State, Kansas, Air Force, Miami-Ohio, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Western Michigan, Missouri State, South Dakota, UNI, Lehigh, Army, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, and Princeton.
Hawthorne, who’s rated as the No. 2 prospect in Iowa and No. 36 linebacker in the class by 247 Sports, wanted to follow in his dad’s footsteps since he was young.
His dad, Greg Hawthorne played football at Northern Iowa, while his sister Ava Hawthorne is playing basketball at Drake, and his brother Drew Hawthorne swam collegiately at both Iowa and Cincinnati.
“My goal ever since I think I was seven years old was to play division 1 football,” Hawthorne said. “I wanted to be like (my dad) from a young age. I spent so much time on those hillsides – playing football more than watching the game. Seeing that team so close and having that goal throughout my life – it really brightened my eyes seeing (the program) grow.”
Hawthorne is the lone linebacker commit to the 2025 class and Colby Kratch’s linebacker room.
He said that he gathered a lot of information on the new Iowa State coach this year from current players during visits.
“He’s a great guy,” Hawthorne said. “A lot of information I got about him came from (current players) on the official visit. I’m the only linebacker in this recruiting class, so it was kind of just me and him a lot during my game day visits. Talking to the players, they really speak about how he lets you play, ‘free.’ Especially early on in a younger player’s mind, they can’t play as fast as they want to because they have to think about all of these things. The players talked about how Kratch just lets linebackers be linebackers and play their game.”
That stuck out to Hawthorne as Jacob Ellis and Rylan Barnes – each former joining Iowa State as preferred walk-ons – and freshman Cael Brezina and Beau Goodwin were all needed at the linebacker spot during the 2024 season.
“Oh, 100 percent,” “Seeing how deep they could go and how much they trust those guys – even the sixth string linebackers. The linebackers are the leaders of the defense and being able to trust all of those guys down the line shows a lot about who coach Kratch is.
Now, on the week he makes his decision official, Hawthorne will watch the Cyclones compete in their second Big 12 championship game in the past five seasons.
“It’s really exciting,” Hawthorne said. “I kind of made the decision before football season and kind of left it behind me to play my football season. But now, being able to watch Iowa State’s success throughout the season and building up to them being in the Big 12 Championship right before Signing Day, it’s just special.”
