Iowa Football Recruiting: Hawkeyes Land 3-Star 2021 LB Zach Twedt

The Hawkeyes wrapped up the regular season with their fifth straight win over Nebraska on Black Friday. On Saturday, while the rest of college football was wrapping up its regular season, Iowa continued the great weekend with a big time commitment in the class of 2021.

Shortly after Iowa State kicked off at Kansas State, the Hawkeyes took one of their top commitments as Story City linebacker Zach Twedt flipped to Iowa.

While the move had been rumored for some time, adding a third high level linebacker in the class of 2021 before the class of 2020 has had a chance to sign on the line provides some great momentum.

Twedt had been Matt Campbell’s first commit in the class of 2021 when he jumped on board in January. However, he had been trending away from the Cyclones and toward the Hawkeyes since this season kicked off. He made his way to Iowa City multiple times this year and ended up attending the Cy-Hawk game in Ames on a paid ticket rather than as a guest of the Cyclones. A little over two weeks ago, Twedt formally re-opened his recruitment.

Today, he’s a Hawkeye and he’s a good one. Despite being just a 3-star by Rivals and 247 Sports, Twedt looks like a high-caliber player.

At 6’3” and north of 215 pounds, Twedt has an excellent frame for a linebacker. However, he brings a ton of versatility. As a junior at Roland-Story, he both inside and outside linebacker as well as some safety. He also lined up at virtually every skill position on the offensive side of the ball and spent time as a return man. He can really do it all at the high school level.

While not all of that will translate to the next level, it speaks to his athleticism and ability to be coached, which certainly will translate. Look for Twedt to project as an outside linebacker with 15-20 pounds of added strength. He shows great ability in pass coverage as evidenced by his usage as a safety and slot defender. But he’s also very good diagnosing and reacting to plays in the run game, which Iowa clearly requires.

Overall, Twedt is Iowa’s sixth commitment in the class of 2021, which Rivals ranks as 7th nationally. He’s also the third linebacker commitment in the class, joining Jaden Harrell of Urbandale and Eden Prairie, Minnesota native Justice Sullivan who committed last week.

With a fast start to the class of ‘21, the staff can follow the same recipe they used for 2020: focus on top local talent and emphasize impact players from around the country where you can spend more time than competitors. It’s working beautifully thus far.

Welcome aboard Zach Twedt!

Zach Twedt

Position: Linebacker

Height: 6’3”

Weight: 215

Hometown: Story City, IA (Roland-Story)

Stars: 247 Sports - 3; Rivals - 3