“Iowa has always been the right fit for me”: Hawkeyes Receive Massive Commitment News
It has been quite the year for Iowa City West offensive lineman and Iowa commit Colin Whitters.
As a sophomore, Whitters was around 6-foot-3.5, 240-pounds and was a tight end for the Trojans. Fast forward to this fall, Whitters moved to the offensive line, where he was listed at 6-foot-3.5, 315-pounds and picked up the position rather quickly.
Whitters started to see his offer list take off in June as Iowa and Iowa State offered him, then came Kansas State. Programs like Missouri, Wisconsin, and others were keeping a close watch on him.
Whitters went from a tight end to a big interior offensive lineman rather quickly and also starred on the defensive line for the Trojans this past fall as a nose tackle. Whitters went through the process, but throughout his recruitment, kept coming back to Iowa in his mind, and he made things official last weekend as he committed to the Hawkeyes.
“Iowa has always been the right fit for me,” Whitters said on Friday. “I think [Iowa offensive line coach] George Barnett’s big thing is go be a kid. I think when I was visiting all those other programs, Iowa was always in the back of my mind, but I just can’t commit right now I gotta be a kid and see what is out there.
”Iowa was always in the back of my mind for me. When I committed, it felt really good to get all of that weight lifted off my shoulders. I was about to walk out of the facility, but I told my mom that I have to do this and I think it’s the right place for me so I went up there. Coach Barnett was talking to Owen [Linder] for a bit, and then I told him right there that I wanted to be a Hawk.”
Whitters is one of the four offensive line commits for Iowa in the 2026 class. The others being Waterloo West four-star offensive lineman Carson Nieslen, who committed to the Hawkeyes last spring, and four-star Hudson Parliament and three-star Owen Linder, who joined the Hawkeyes’ class in the same 24 hour span as Whitters did.
The offensive line position had been a focal point for Iowa in the 2026 class early in the cycle.
The Hawkeyes were get on the board early with Nielsen and then the dominoes started to fall again this past weekend with Linder announcing his commitment first, then Whitters and Parliament.
Iowa has a four-man offensive line class at this point and the Hawkeyes are looking to take more as Hinsdale (Ill.) Central three-star Gene Riordan is at the top of the board, too.
“We had three commits in the same weekend and the same position,” Whitters said. “That says a lot about Coach Barnett and the position and the program. It’s also exciting that I know those guys. Carson [Nielsen] was a big reason I committed. We work out together and he was always in my ear the whole time. I posted that picture of me being a little kid at Kinnick, and I’ve always been a Hawk, so making it official felt really good. I had a lot of support.”
Whitters grew up an Iowa fan as he has lived in Iowa City his entire life. That made the decision easier for him given his familiarity and love for the program, but he said it was the perfect fit from a scheme standpoint, too.
”They’re just some ass kickers,” Whitters said of the Iowa offensive line. “I love that about them. They kick ass. They’re offensive linemen. They love pancakes and love being around eachother. At the end of the day, they’re ass kickers and that’s the type of people I want to be around. Iowa is the best developmental school in the country so I can’t wait to get in there and be developed by Coach Barnett.”
Whitters was also being heavily recruited by Iowa State and Kansas State. It was always going to be tough for the Cyclones to pull a kid out of Iowa City, but Whitters gave Iowa State a fair shot as he visited Ames numerous times.
Kansas State also got a visit from Whitters and the Wildcats actually wanted him on defense at tackle, which is where he also plays at West High.
Boom! Iowa City kid through & through..
And one hell of a player!😎👏👌🖤💛🏈#SU_Posse #BigAthlete https://t.co/skcDRfPFfb pic.twitter.com/1do2pM8eWt
— JC Moreau (@TheStrengthU) January 27, 2025
Whitters will not enroll early at Iowa as he said Barnett wants him to enjoy his senior season. Whitters plays basketball for West High and also throws shot put and discus for West High’s track team. He had personal-bests of 55-06.50 in the shot and 161-06.00 in discus. He finished seventh in the state in shot put and eighth in discus, which is very impressive as a sophomore.
Whitters is now an active recruiter for the Hawkeyes. One of the top targets he is looking to add to Iowa’s class is one of his close friends and teammates at West High in three-star linebacker Julian Manson, who is also considering Minnesota and Kansas State.
“Right now, I’m just focused on JuJu,” Whitters said.
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