The Upper Iowa University football team and coaching staff led by Head Coach Jason Hoskins announced its class of recruits for the upcoming season. The class includes commitments from 30 young men to attend Upper Iowa and compete for the 2024 Peacock football team. 
 
Four position groups became the focus of the recruiting class led by seven wide receivers, five offensive lineman, four defensive backs and four defensive linemen. Other positions included in the incoming class come in the form of three running backs, three linebackers, two tight ends and one long snapper. 
 
"We had some needs at certain positions we needed to address, and we are confident that we accomplished that," said Head Coach Jason Hoskins. 
 
The recruiting class originates from seven states with 16 hailing from the state of Iowa. Nine others come from neighboring states including five from Illinois and one additional recruit from Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota and Missouri. The Peacocks also brought in three recruits from Texas.

"We are excited to add some great young men to our program," noted Hoskins. "This group of signees are not only great players, but embody the core values of our program and are committed to success.  We feel these players will continue to push the program forward as we climb in the GLVC and in Division II.  We can't wait to get them on campus and get to work!"
 

Peacock	Position	HT	WT	YR	Hometown	High School	College
Aaron King	DB	5-11	165	Fr.	Chicago, Ill.	Plainfield East HS
Kale Miller	DB	6-0	255	Fr.	Waverly, Iowa	Waverly Shell Rock HS
Marxquise Hayes	DB	5-10	182	Fr.	Houston, Tex.	Fort Bend Willowridge HS
Zackary Clark	DB	6-2	180	Fr.	Gary, Ind.	St. Rita of Cascia HS
Logan Wright	DL	6-2	235	Fr.	West Branch, Iowa	West Branch HS
Wesley Willis	DL	6-3	270	So.	Grundy Center, Iowa	Grundy Center HS	Northwest Missouri State Univ.
Jordan Tornstrom	DL/OL	6-2	240	Fr.	Caledonia, Minn.	Caledonia HS
Graedan Sullivan	DL/TE	6-3	255	Fr.	Elkhart, Iowa	Northpolk HS
Gage Dunker	LB	6-0	210	Fr.	Lena, Ill.	Lena-Winslow HS
Wyatt Powell	LB/RB	6-1	220	Fr.	Monona, Iowa	MFL MarMac HS
Cameron Johnston	LS/LB	5-10	215	Fr.	Clive, Iowa	Waukee HS
Gavin Douglas	OL	6-2	280	Fr.	Altoona, Iowa	Southeast Polk HS
Max Sell	OL	6-2	262	Fr.	Imperial, Mo.	Seckman HS
Aramis steward	OL/DL	6-4	270	Fr.	Calumet City, Ill.	Thornton Fractional North HS
Daniel Robinson	OL/DL	6-3	221	Fr.	Iowa City, Iowa	Iowa City West HS
Dupree Whitney	OL/LS	6-2	280	Fr.	Des Moines, Iowa	Des Moines North HS
Jayden Gordon	RB	5-10	195	Fr.	Kenosha, Wis.	St. Joseph Catholic Academy
Silvano Spatafora	RB	5-7	185	Fr.	Bolingbrook, Ill.	Neuqua Valley HS
Damon Lachae Head Jr.	RB/WR	5-10	190	Fr.	West Des Moines, Iowa	Valley HS
Master Brooks	TE	6-3	235	Fr.	Sioux City, Iowa	Sioux City West HS
Trevor Myers	TE/DL	6-1	230	Fr.	Solon, Iowa	Solon HS
Koen Fleming	WR	5-10	180	Fr.	Davenport, Iowa	Bettendorf HS
Logan Holmes	WR	5-11	185	So.	Tomball, Tex.	Tomball Memorial HS	Iowa Central CC
Cael Keller	WR/DB	6-2	150	Fr.	Beaman, Iowa	BCLUW HS
Kenneth Cooley	WR/DB	5-11	165	Fr.	Aurora, Ill.	East Aurora HS
Peyton Schilling	WR/KR	5-11	170	Fr.	Monticello, Iowa	Monticello HS	-
Takoda Bridges	WR/KR	5-9	165	So.	Carrollton, Tex.	Hebron HS	Northern Arizona Univ.
Logan Rosauer	WR/TE	6-3	190	Fr.	La Porte City, Iowa	Union HS
Evan Dorn	LB	6-3	205	Fr.	Denver, Iowa	Denver HS
Tyrone Kennedy	CB/WR

The Upper Iowa football program saw the most wins in a season since 2018 after going 3-8. They made their debut in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and defeated Southwest Baptist 35-13 for their first conference win. The Peacocks downed Missouri S&T, a fellow GLVC affiliate, earlier in the year 38-26 in a non-conference matchup. They held a ranked football program in Truman State to only 14 points, as the Peacocks recorded seven of their own and only lost by one touchdown (14-7).
 
The Peacocks boasted ten all-conference nominees following the 2023 season. Peacocks on the first team were Mante Morrow, Eddie Burgess and John Butsch. Second team honorees were Tyler Nielson, Willy Camacho and Zacarius Murray. Honorable mention went to Darryl Overstreet Jr., Baxter Bohr, Ben Kamara and Traegen Kramer.
 
The Peacocks are still looking for an eleventh game to complete their schedule, but currently are set to open their campaign on Sep. 7 against Concordia, St. Paul in a non-conference match, followed by another non-conference battle at South Dakota Mines on Sep. 14. UIU football opens conference play on Sep. 14 against Southwest Baptist in Bolivar, Mo. Their first home GLVC matchup is set for Oct. 5 versus Truman State. Other home events include William Jewell on Oct. 10, Indianapolis on Oct. 26 and Missouri S&T on Nov. 16. 

"We're excited about our second year in the GLVC," said Hoskins. "We know the landscape a little bit better and are preparing to compete in the league.  We are also able to play some non-conference games with the flexibility on the GLVC schedule.  We are currently scheduled to play Concordia-St. Paul at home and South Dakota School of Mines on the road in the 2024 season."
 
Highlight videos of all future Peacocks can be found on the Upper Iowa football team's Twitter page at http://twitter.com/Upper_Iowa_FB.
 

Name	Position	HT	WT	Year	Hometown	HS	College
Aaron King	DB	5-11	165	Fr.	Chicago, Ill.	Plainfield East HS
Major:	Undecided
Parents:	Tiffany Laos and Eugene King
Notes:	SPC All-Conference
Kale Miller	DB	6-0	255	Fr.	Waverly, Iowa	Waverly Shell Rock HS
Major:	Business
Parents:	Alyssa and Brian Miller
Notes:	2x All-District... 3x Academic All-District... All area ...
Marxquise Hayes	DB	5-10	182	Fr.	Houston, Tex.	Fort Bend Willowridge HS
Major:	Biology
Parents:	Dornicea Smith
Notes:	2023 Defensive MVP... All District Second Team Free Safety in 2022, 2023, 2024... 4x Honor Roll Student in HS
Zackary Clark	DB	6-2	180	Fr.	Gary, Ind.	St. Rita of Cascia HS
Major:	Accounting/Business
Parents:	Tamika Clark
Notes:	Bernard Danber Award... Wayne Tomas Award... Friday Night Drive's Player of the Week... Team captain
Logan Wright	DL	6-2	235	Fr.	West Branch, Iowa	West Branch HS
Major:	Exercise Science
Parents:	Joy and Jeff Wright
Notes:	2x First Team All-state defensive lineman... MVP defensive lineman... MVP defensive player... Football captain... Wrestling captain for three years... 2x state qualifier (8th Place)... Honor roll... 3x conference champ... 2x district champ...
Wesley Willis	DL	6-3	270	So.	Grundy Center, Iowa	Grundy Center HS	Northwest Missouri State Univ.
Major:	Biology Pre-Chiropractic
Parents:	Jesse and Lori Willis
Notes:	Captain - 2020... Academic All-District – 2019, 2020... Academic All-State - 2020... First Team All-District – 2019, 2020... All- District Defensive MVP - 2020... First Team All-State – 2019, 2020... Heavy Equipment Lineman of the Year – 2019...Iowa All Star Shrine Bowl Player – 2021... SHIELD Player of the Year - 2020... Class A State Runner Up 2019, 2020... 2019 TOT - 79.5, Solo - 59, Sacks - 4, TFL 15.5... 2020 TOT - 53.5, Solo - 40, Sacks - 12, TFL 22.5, Safety - 1...
Jordan Tornstrom	DL/OL	6-2	240	Fr.	Caledonia, Minn.	Caledonia HS
Major:	Undecided
Parents:	Kelli and Mike Tornstrom
Notes:	Minnesota All-Star football. ...
Graedan Sullivan	DL/TE	6-3	255	Fr.	Elkhart, Iowa	Northpolk HS
Major:	Business Administration
Parents:	Jeff Sullivan, Kari Sullivan
Notes:	Gold Honor Roll... 3.9 GPA... Academic All-District and All-State ... Honorable mention All-District
Gage Dunker	LB	6-0	210	Fr.	Lena, Ill.	Lena-Winslow HS
Major:	Business
Parents:	Michelle and Michael Dunker
Notes:	2x State Champ Football... 2x All-State Football... 2x All-State Track and Field... Most touchdowns in NUIC History ... 2x Principal Honor Roll... Most rushing yards in a season and most touchdowns in a season in the NUIC
Wyatt Powell	LB/RB	6-1	220	Fr.	Monona, Iowa	MFL MarMac HS
Major:	Undecided
Parents:	Nikki and Mark Kautman
Notes:	2x All-State football, 4x All-District football
Cameron Johnston	LS/LB	5-10	215	Fr.	Clive, Iowa	Waukee HS
Major:	Physical Education
Parents:	Mike Gooding, Julie Gooding
Notes:
Gavin Douglas	OL	6-2	280	Fr.	Altoona, Iowa	Southeast Polk HS
Major:	Physical Education
Parents:	John and Chris Douglas
Notes:	3x State Champion 5A... Second Team all-district... 3x All-Academic Award
Max Sell	OL	6-2	262	Fr.	Imperial, Mo.	Seckman HS
Major:	Business
Parents:	Brandon and Heather Sell
Notes:	MO ACS-All-star game... Second Team All-Conference...
Aramis steward	OL/DL	6-4	270	Fr.	Calumet City, Ill.	Thornton Fractional North HS
Major:	Undecided
Parents:	Cupid Vennetta Steward
Notes:	All-Conference, All-Region
Daniel Robinson	OL/DL	6-3	221	Fr.	Iowa City, Iowa	Iowa City West HS
Major:	Business
Parents:	Laticia Robinson
Notes:	Team caption for football 2023, team captain for track 2023, 2024 4x100 state champion 2023, high jump state qualifier…
Dupree Whitney	OL/LS	6-2	280	Fr.	Des Moines, Iowa	Des Moines North HS
Major:	Undecided
Parents:	Eric and Sara Whitney
Notes:	Second Team All-District OL (2023) ... HM All-Conference 1st Base (2023) ... Academic All-Conference Track (2021) ... Football Team Captain (2023) ... Baseball Team Captain (2023/2024) ... Track Team Captain (2023/2024) ...
Jayden Gordon	RB	5-10	195	Fr.	Kenosha, Wis.	St. Joseph Catholic Academy
Major:	Business Administration
Parents:	Cecil Gordon, Stephanie Durick
Notes:	Football- 2x State Player of The Week, 3x All Conference, 2x Conference Back of The Year, 2x All State, 2x All Region, 2x Conference O-POY, 1x Conference D-POY, Academic All State... ...Track and Field: 2x State qualifier, Sectional qualifier, Regional Champ.... ... Four School Records Broken... Longest kickoff return for TD, Single season rushing yards per attempt- 15.4, Career TD's- 81, Career points scored- 514.... ...Football Stats... All Purpose Yards- 38 TD's, 140 Car, 2150 Rushing Yds, 37 TDs, 15.4 Yds/Car, 215 Yds Per Game, TD scored every four attempts...
Silvano Spatafora	RB	5-7	185	Fr.	Bolingbrook, Ill.	Neuqua Valley HS
Major:	Exercise Science
Parents:	Nicole and Frank Spatafora
Notes:	2x All Conference... 6th Best individual performance in Neuqua History ...
Damon Lachae Head Jr.	RB/WR	5-10	190	Fr.	West Des Moines, Iowa	Valley HS
Major:	Criminology
Parents:	Shadonna Head and Damon Head
Notes:	First Team All-District, First Team All-State, 1303 Rushing Yards, 1500 All-Purpose Yards, Member of track team
Master Brooks	TE	6-3	235	Fr.	Sioux City, Iowa	Sioux City West HS
Major:	Exercise Science
Parents:	Tanya Brooks
Notes:
Trevor Myers	TE/DL	6-1	230	Fr.	Solon, Iowa	Solon HS
Major:	Undecided
Parents:	Billie Myers, Eric Myers
Notes:
Koen Fleming	WR	5-10	180	Fr.	Davenport, Iowa	Bettendorf HS
Major:	Kinesiology
Parents:	Eric and Shawn Fleming
Notes:	First Team Specialist
Logan Holmes	WR	5-11	185	So.	Tomball, Tex.	Tomball Memorial HS	Iowa Central CC
Major:	Finance
Parents:	Jennifer Fridley, Brett Holmes
Notes:
Cael Keller	WR/DB	6-2	150	Fr.	Beaman, Iowa	BCLUW HS
Major:	Exercise Science
Parents:	Jennifer Averill
Notes:	Honor Roll x 10... Student Class President... All-Conference x 6... All-District x 2... State Track Place
Kenneth Cooley	WR/DB	5-11	165	Fr.	Aurora, Ill.	East Aurora HS
Major:	Real Estate / Business
Parents:	Janet Wright
Notes:	22-23 Upstate 8 All-Conference ... 23-24 Upstate 8 Offensive Player of the Year... 23-24 First Team All-State... East Aurora High School Single Season Most Touchdowns Record with 27…
Peyton Schilling	WR/KR	5-11	170	Fr.	Monticello, Iowa	Monticello HS	-
Major:	Business
Parents:	Jamey Schilling, Mandee Schilling
Notes:	3.0+ student, First Team all-state WR, 1st team all-district WR (3x), 4.53 40-yard dash (laser), All-Conference basketball and baseball player, 1k + receiving yards, 15 TD's in senior season.Top three Overall receiving yards in school history and first for Receiving TDs.
Takoda Bridges	WR/KR	5-9	165	So.	Carrollton, Tex.	Hebron HS	Northern Arizona Univ.
Major:	Graphic Design
Parents:	Sheryl and Jackie Bridges
Notes:	All-State nominee ... First Team All-District ... Whataburger player of the year
Logan Rosauer	WR/TE	6-3	190	Fr.	La Porte City, Iowa	Union HS
Major:	Biology
Parents:
Notes:	Honorable Mention All-District 2021, First team TE All-District 2022, First team All-District P and TE 2023... ... Honorable Mention All-Conference basketball 2021, Honorable Mention All-Conference basketball 2022...... State track 4x200 8th place 2022, sprint medley 13th place 2022…110m high hurdles state qualifier 2023.... ... Notional Honor Society