Football recruits competing at Drake Relays

The 114th running of the Drake Relays will be held in Des Moines this week. Among those competing at the high school level will be a number of football recruits, including several future Hawkeyes. In this update, we take a closer look at the top names, the events they qualified in, and much more.

Brevin Doll

Future Hawkeye running back Brevin Doll, who already has multiple state titles in track, qualified in four events. First, Doll will be running the 100-meter dash, where he comes into the Drake Relays with the 6th best time in state across all classes at 10.75 seconds. Then, Doll will also be anchoring three relay teams for ADM as well. They come into the week with the 3rd best time in the 4×100 at 42.11, the 4th best time in the 4×200 at 1:28.41, and the 3rd best time in the 4×400 at 3:23.54.

Derek Weisskopf

Iowa linebacker signee Derek Weisskopf will be competing in three events at the Drake Relays this week. First is the high jump, where Weisskopf is already a two-time state champion. He comes into the week with the 2nd best mark in the state this season at 6-8. In the discus, Weisskopf currently ranks 7th in the state with a throw of 180-04 and in the shot put he is currently 18th with a throw of 53-06.

Preston Ries

Fellow linebacker Preston Ries will also be competing in the shot put at the Drake Relays. The Monticello native comes into the week ranked 15th with a throw of 53-10.75 this season.

Cam Buffington

The third linebacker in the incoming freshman class will also be there as Cam Buffington will be competing in the long jump this week. Buffington comes in ranked 10th with a best of 22-05 this season.

Reece Vander Zee

Future Hawkeye wide receiver Reece Vander Zee will be running the 110 meter hurdles at the Drake Relays. Vander Zee comes in ranked 14th with a best of 14.76 this season.

Mason Knipp

Waterloo Columbus offensive lineman Mason Knipp, who is joining the Hawkeyes as a preferred walk-on this year, also qualified in the shot put. Knipp comes into the week ranked 17th with a throw of 53-08 this season.

Mason Woods

Class of 2025 prospect Mason Woods, who is still considering offers from Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State, Wyoming, Tulsa, and South Dakota, will also be at Drake this week. The son of Iowa special teams coordinator LeVar Woods, he will be running on Iowa City West’s 4×100 team, which comes in with the 4th best time at 42.34, and the distance medley where they have the 2nd best time at 3:32.62.

Julian Manson

Another name to watch from Iowa City West will be Class of 2026 prospect Julian Manson, whose father is former Hawkeye Jason Manson, now the director of player development at Iowa. Manson will be teaming up with Woods in the 4×100 and the distance medley at Drake. He will also be running the 4×200 where West comes in with the 2nd best time at 1:27.42, as well as the 4×400 with West holding the 7th best time at 3:24.35.

Braeden Jackson

Ankeny Centennial running back Braeden Jackson continues to be a name to keep an eye on in the Class of 2025. The son of former NFL back Fred Jackson, who went to Coe, Braeden will be running in the 4×100 where Centennial has the 9th best time at 42.75, and the 4×200 where they come in ranked 3rd at 1:28.30.

Elijah Hoyt

Urbandale defensive back Elijah Hoyt is a name still on Iowa’s radar for the Class of 2025. At the Drake Relays, Hoyt will be running the 4×100 where Urbandale ranks 55th at 44.17 and will be leading off the distance medley with his team coming in with the 3rd best time at 3:32.66.

Will Hawthorne

Gilbert linebacker Will Hawthorne is having an impressive spring on the track, including an 11.08 time in the 100-meter dash at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds. Hawthorne will be at the Drake Relays running the anchor leg of the 4×100 for Gilbert who comes in ranked 67th with a time of 44.41.

Rayce Heitman

Williamsburg wide receiver Rayce Heitman is another name on Iowa’s radar for the Class of 2025. He will be competing in the 4×100 relay, running the anchor leg for Williamsburg who comes into the Drake Relays ranked 23rd at 43.33.

Louden Grimsley

Sioux City East junior Louden Grimsley is an interesting prospect in the Class of 2025. Currently, he holds scholarship offers in football from Toledo, Kent State, Northern Illinois, Miami-OH, North Dakota State, and UNI. Already a three-time state champion in track, Grimsley will be competing in the 100-meter dash at the Drake Relays and comes in with the 8th best time at 10.81. He will also be running in the 4×200 where Sioux City East has the 14th best time this season at 1:29.83.

More: Drake Relays Schedule | High School Heat Sheets

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