Ankeny’s Jase Bauer is one of the best quarterbacks in the state of Iowa — just ask his teammates.

Hawkeye football commits Brody Brecht and Arland Bruce IV have seen it firsthand all season, and they’re confident he’s good enough to play at the FBS level.

And so is Iowa, which offered Bauer a preferred walk-on spot in October after the signal-caller had mainly received interest from a number of FCS schools.

“Brody and Arland, they’ve been awesome through my recruiting process trying to help me out,” Bauer said. “That’s definitely an honor to get an opportunity to play at a big school like Iowa. When it comes down to making my decision, it’s definitely going to be in the options.”

The talent Bauer has put on display of late is nothing new.

Bauer, who holds offers from Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, and Eastern Illinois, among others, led Class 4A with 2,207 passing yards as a junior last season. The next closest quarterback failed to eclipse 2,000 yards. He also ranked second in passing touchdowns (20) and all-purpose yards (2,576).

This season has been more of the same for the most part.

Bauer once again ranks second in all-purpose yards (2,185) and third in passing yards (1,642). This time, though, Bauer leads 4A with 24 scores through the air — seven more than the next closest quarterback.

“The thing that stands out to me the most is just his football IQ — he’s just a film junkie,” Brecht said. “When we played Indianola, he knew what the defense was doing based on their signals and how they were walking up to the ball. He’s really invested in the film.

“And his athleticism — he’s really athletic. He’s as fast as us receivers. He’s a really special player. You guys see the arm talent. You know he can throw it a mile, so he’s a really good player.”

He’s shown killer instinct as well.

In Ankeny’s playoff game against Cedar Falls on Oct. 30, the Hawks and Tigers entered halftime tied at 16. It was far from Ankeny’s best offensive performance. Bauer missed some throws, and the team committed some turnovers.

But that didn’t last. Ankeny outscored Cedar Falls 21-0 in the second half to complete a 37-16 victory to keep its season alive.

Bauer finished with 185 yards and two touchdowns through the air to go along with 71 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

Not a bad way to respond after a rough first half in a must-win game.

“I feel like the first half we all started off pretty slow, but as you saw in the second half we came out and started off strong,” Bruce said. “Jase can run. He can run pretty fast, so defenses have to play him. If not, then he can sling the ball. I think schools will start taking notice. I don’t know why they haven’t already, but we’ll see.”

Bauer said the coach at Iowa he’s talked to the most is Jay Niemann, who is responsible for recruiting the central Iowa area.

The Ankeny quarterback said the talks have picked up a little bit since he received his PWO offer and that he and Niemann speak on the phone every week.

The Hawkeyes are still watching, Bauer said, in case a scholarship opportunity in Iowa City comes into play.

But through it all, recruiting was never at the front of Bauer’s mind.

His goal has been to lead Ankeny as far as possible. With an offense that leads 4A in total yardage and scoring by a significant margin and features legitimate home-run threats in Brecht and Bruce, a run to the UNI-Dome is entirely possible.

If Bauer can take care of that, his college football future will sort itself out.

“I just want to go all the way,” Bauer said. “I think the biggest statement I could make is to win a state championship, so that’s where my mind’s at right now.”

After the season, a decision will be made. And although Brecht and Bruce want Bauer to make the best decision for himself, all three of them will be in Iowa City if the current commits get their way.

“Me and Arland have talked to him wanting to play together,” Brecht said. “But we both said just do what’s best for him, but it’d be really cool for him to come to Iowa with us.”