5-star DE Iose Epenesa, brother of Bills’ AJ, chooses Iowa over Penn State, more | News, scores, highlights, stats & rumors

The Iowa Hawkeyes have added a talented new team to their defense.

Scott Dochterman of The Athletic reported that five-star defensive end Iose Epenesa has announced his commitment to the Hawkeyes, over programs like Miami, Utah, Missouri and Penn State.

“Five-star defensive end Iose Epenesa committed to Iowa on Thursday night, choosing the Hawkeyes over Miami, Utah, Penn State and Missouri,” Dochterman wrote. “Epenesa, the son of former Iowa defensive tackle Eppy Epenesa and younger brother of former Iowa defensive lineman AJ Epenesa and current Iowa linebacker Eric Epenesa, is a native of Edwardsville, Ill. He has been to countless Hawkeyes games nearly every year of his life.”

Epenesa, a native of Edwardsville, Illinois, is the 42nd-ranked player in the nation, the 5th-ranked defenseman and the best player in the state of Illinois, according to the 247 Sports composite rankings.

Iowa was the only school he attended and his dedication shows further family loyalty to the Hawkeyes. He is the 14th hard commit of the 2025 class and is the second commit to have a rating above four stars, per 247.

He joins a Hawkeyes team that has had 11 consecutive winning seasons and has won 10 games in 2023. His brother Eric is entering his junior season with the Hawkeyes and could overlap with Iose in 2025.