Will Hawthorne

High School Prepped at Gilbert High School for head coach Graham Lundt … four-star prospect by 247Sports … No. 2 player in the state of Iowa by 247Sports and a top-70 inside linebacker nationally by ESPN … 2024 MaxPreps Iowa High School Football Player of the Year … member of Des Moines Register’s All-Iowa Elite Team … two-time District 4 MVP (2023, ’24) … helped bring Gilbert football back to success, going from just one win in his first two seasons to a 9-2 record and playoff quarterfinal appearance as a senior … played on both sides of the ball … fourth in the state, across all classes, with 2,263 rushing yards in his final season … led Class 4A with 28 rushing touchdowns and averaged 6.9 yards per carry … finished with 44.5 tackles, 10.0 TFL, two sacks and three forced fumbles on the defensive side of the ball … 2023 Des Moines Register All-Iowa Team honorable mention … as a junior, led the Tigers with 63 tackles, including 10 for a loss and 4.5 sacks … added 774 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground and averaged 5.9 yards per carry … finished career with 177 tackles and 28.5 TFL to go along with 3,482 yards rushing and 46 touchdowns … also played basketball and participated in track & field … picked the Cyclones over offers from Nebraska, Kansas and Kansas State. Personal Comes from an athletic family … grandfather played college football at Navy and father, Greg, was a tight end at UNI from 1992-96 … brother, Drew, was a swimmer at Cincinnati and sister, Ava, plays basketball at Drake.