Iowa gets a commitment from a big, athletic in-state offensive tackle.
Iowa received their first 2026 commitment over the weekend as Waterloo (Iowa) West offensive tackle Carson Nielsen gave the Hawkeyes his verbal on Saturday during a visit then announced for them on Monday night.
“Some of the people there that made me want to make this decision were Coach Barnett, Coach Ferentz, Tyler Barnes, and Matt Spaulding,” Nielsen said. “Coach Barnett is a very similar guy to me, and I believe in his coaching style and how he runs his o-line room. Coach Ferentz is obviously a legend and one of the greatest coaches of all time, and I just want to be able to say I played for him. All of the other staff like Tyler Barnes just always took great care of my family and teammates I brought on visits.”
The staff was a driving factor in Nielsen’s decision, and he said previously he has a family full of Hawkeye fans, but there were other aspects of the school and program that also caught his attention.
“The school is close to home and a great school for Kinesiology and sports science, which are important to me because I want to be a strength coach,” he said. “The program is also extremely historic and has a great history of offensive linemen, and I want to carry that on. I believe in their program and grew up watching it. Overall, I want to keep the history of great offensive linemen running and do it under Coach Barnett and Coach Ferentz.”
Nielsen chose the Hawkeyes over offers from Tennessee, Iowa State, Kansas State, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota State, Penn State, and Wisconsin.
A 6-foot-7, 290-pound prospect who is also a thrower in track, Nielsen will have a strong chance at the initial Top247 for his class, which debuts at the end of this month.
“Getting Carson Nielsen as the first commit in the 2026 class is significant for Iowa,” says Hawkeye Insider’s Sean Bock. “Nielsen has arguably the most upside of any prospect in the state of Iowa currently in high school and continues to display how well Iowa has recruited on the offensive line the last couple of years. Had Nielsen waited to commit, it’s likely that more SEC schools and programs like Notre Dame would’ve entered the fold, so that makes it an even bigger win for the Hawkeyes to get him early. The transfer portal is very important in today’s era of college football, but Iowa prides itself on building its roster through the high school ranks, and landing top-end talent like Nielsen who can develop into a special talent long-term is significant for this program, especially as an in-state prospect.”
“Obviously, his physical stature gets your attention,” says J.C. Moreau of Strength U, where Nielsen trains. “He may be the most well-proportioned big guy we’ve had. His measurables are off the charts. He can bend and move his feet extremely well and already has the best vertical and broad jump of any offensive lineman we’ve worked with. He has a lot of work and development to do on the field, from a fundamentals and skill standpoint, but his ceiling is virtually unlimited. I’m really excited to see how he progresses over the next few years.”
In the classroom, Nielsen carries a 3.35 GPA. He also played baseball and basketball growing up.