There is rarely a quiet December in the Big Ten, as Iowa continues to demonstrate. Days before Signing Day, the Hawkeyes pulled off one of the more intriguing late-cycle recruiting successes of 2025, giving their 2026 class both a talent boost and a positional surprise. Jack Janda, a long, athletic prospect from Detroit Catholic Central who was, until recently, getting ready to continue his football career on the offensive side of the ball, was a former Wisconsin pledge who was flipped by the program.
The majority of recruiting boards saw Janda’s frame and potential as a contemporary tight end when he first committed to Wisconsin. He looked the part at 6 feet 6 inches and 250 pounds. However, somewhere along the way, that vision was altered. Instead of following the projection, Janda took control of the narrative. He announced his commitment to Iowa not as an offensive weapon, but as a defensive lineman a decision that raised eyebrows, shifted expectations, and now gives the Hawkeyes another high-upside trench piece to develop. Additionally, based on his final high school season’s statistics, Iowa may be getting him on the right side of the ball.
Janda had a tremendous senior year. There is no other way to express it. He had 46 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss, and 11 sacks numbers that stand out even in the talent-rich Midwest prep scene. When you watch the tape, those aren’t just clean-up numbers. He played downhill, utilizing length, leverage, and disruption. He wasn’t just making plays; he was wrecking drives. When the offense attempted to settle in, Janda was there first, hands extended, feet chopping, causing havoc at contact. He accomplished what Iowa defensive linemen have become known for during the Ferentz era: making an impact without needing to be in the spotlight. Here’s where Janda becomes even more intriguing: he wasn’t just acting defensively.
Detroit Catholic Central ran a balanced attack last season, and Janda contributed to it as well. He caught eight passes for 159 receiving yards, averaging nearly 20 a grab, and found the end zone twice. Those receptions weren’t volume-based. They were strategic. The kind of short-yardage and red-zone targets teams rely on when they trust the matchup is won before the ball is even snapped. He was part-time tight end, full-time mismatch. And while his future is now on the defensive front, those offensive flashes are a clear reminder that his athleticism is real. He can move. He can adjust. He can finish plays in space. Iowa loves those traits, especially for edge defenders and interior rushers who aren’t limited to mud wrestling at the line of scrimmage.
His final season also ended in the most convincing way possible with domination.
Last year, Detroit Catholic Central did more than just win games. Every Friday night, they eliminated doubt. They went a perfect 14-0, steamrolling the competition with a brand of football built on physicality, discipline, and punishing defense. One of the most outstanding team seasons in Michigan high school football was completed with a Division I state championship. For the players who were part of it including Janda it served as a résumé builder, a culture badge, and a shared moment that usually bonds teammates for life. Even after years have passed, players from championship teams will still bring up that season before anything else. Undefeated seasons don’t fade from memory. They become identity.
The recruiting services feel the same way: he has a lot of potential, but it hasn’t been fully realized yet. 247Sports and Rivals both say that Janda is a three-star prospect. That ranking fits the profile of the kind of developmental athlete Iowa has made a living off. Not the plug-and-play models that work instantly. More malleable, high-ceiling, patient investment players who, once they get to Iowa City weight rooms, winter conditioning, and adult defensive coaching, punch above projections. Janda joins fellow DL prospect Sawyer Jezierski as the Hawkeyes’ second scholarship defensive lineman commit of the 2026 cycle. The pair now form backbone of Iowa’s scholarship defensive line recruiting in this class. Although Jezierski and Janda are different players, Iowa appears to favor them. They recruit assortment, not redundancy—different strength menus, same culture fit.
The program also holds a defensive line commitment from Cedar Rapids Prairie standout David Fason, who will join the Hawkeyes as a preferred walk-on. While he won’t count toward the official scholarship tally, Fason’s commitment signals what Iowa fans already know: there’s never a shortage of instate trench talent willing to bet on themselves and Ferentz football.
Janda’s late commitment also moved Iowa’s class rankings back into the top 25 nationally. The Hawkeyes’ 2026 recruiting haul is ranked as the 22nd best in the country by both 247Sports and Rivals. Additionally, it’s not a borderline ranking. Even though it doesn’t function as a recruiting content factory, it puts Iowa in a legitimate national conversation. This is a team that doesn’t host flash commitments. Official visits that are boarded up take place there. offers that prioritize the player. Culture is the most important thing.
However, the flip was more significant in December than any ranking tagline could convey. The Wisconsin-Iowa recruiting rivalry may not have the national heat of Ohio State-Michigan, but in Big Ten circles, it’s real. It hurts Wisconsin to lose Janda not because Iowa stole a tight end, but rather because Iowa stole a 6-6, 250 defensive trench disruptor who is already familiar with winning, physical football, and the necessity of earning a position rather than being given one.
And of course, there’s tape.
Hudl highlights of Janda’s senior season show exactly why Iowa defensive coaches were comfortable embracing the position change. Long strides. Heavy contact. Reach that gives blocking schemes headaches. It’s not a stretch to imagine him adding 15 or 20 pounds at Iowa and becoming a defensive chess piece that offensive coordinators circle twice when scouting future matchups.
There’s also a larger context that only makes this flip louder Signing Day proximity.
Teams around the country are locking in classes, filling positional quotas, and sweating last-minute decommit fears. Iowa, meanwhile, is sitting in a top-22 national recruiting slot, flipping a Wisconsin pledge, and laughing off tight end projections to add another defensive lineman who’s already shown he can get QBs on the ground.
Every class needs a storyline. Janda gives Iowa’s trench recruiting one worth watching.
Will he start as a freshman? Probably not. Defensive line might be the slowest-brewing position in football. But if the Detroit Catholic Central senior year showed anything, it’s that Janda doesn’t need instant impact to matter. He only needs development. Time. Strength. And the Hawkeye ecosystem that has turned three-star disruptors into four-star nightmares for opposing offenses for over a decade.
The Hawkeyes didn’t just add a commit.
They added possibility.
And in the Big Ten? That’s everything.
