Iowa has officially signed 2024 three-star linebacker, Preston Ries. The athletic linebacker prospect from Monticello High School in Monticello, IA signed his letter of intent this morning.

Ries chose Iowa over offers from Iowa State and Nebraska.

Ries, who was named MaxPreps' Player of the Year in Iowa on Tuesday, has been a part of Iowa's 2024 recruiting class for a very long time. In fact, he was the fourth member of this class, giving his verbal commitment way back in 2022. The Hawkeyes were the second school to offer Ries, after Iowa State, in April 2022.

"It was a great day watching practice," Ries told Rivals after receiving his offer. "I’ve been down there multiple times to a game, a junior day, and a practice with my coach recently. My parents and I went down yesterday again and after practice I had a chance to talk to some players and Coach (Seth) Wallace. We also talked with Coach (Kirk) Ferentz as well. He then informed me that they’d like me to be a Hawkeye, which was a big surprise."

Ries didn't waste time making his decision after receiving the Iowa offer -- he committed to Iowa just a few weeks later -- and several months before his junior season had even begun.

Don't miss out on any of our exclusive football, basketball, and recruiting coverage. Sign up with Go Iowa Awesome here.

"I really like the competitive atmosphere, the coaches, and it’s very close to home," Ries told Rivals after making his decision. "I’ve known for a while that’s where I wanted to be. In the last few weeks, when visiting Iowa and talking to Coach Wallace, it just felt right."

Ries has enjoyed a tremendously prolific high school career. How prolific? "All-time Iowa high school leader in passing and rushing yards" prolific, by the time he was done.

Last year, Ries completed 160-of-231 passes (69%) for 2,543 yards and 24 touchdowns against five interceptions. He also ran for 1,421 yards and 17 touchdowns on 166 carries. This season, Ries completed 142-of-226 passes (63%) for 2.559 yards and 24 touchdowns against nine interceptions. He added 1,926 yards and 33 touchdowns on 251 carries on the ground as well.

Of course, Ries is coming to Iowa earmarked for the defensive side of the ball -- as a linebacker. He made a big impact on that side of the ball at Monticello as well. In 2022, he led the team with 65 tackles, including 21.0 tackles for loss and 11.0 sacks. In 2023, Ries again led the team with 97 tackles, including 27.5 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks.

He's even punted for Monticello over the past two seasons, with 17 attempts for 657 yards (a 38.6 yards per punt average) in 2022. This season, Ries attempted 12 punts for 426 yards (a 35.5 yards per punt average).

The slight caveat to all of Ries' incredible stats, of course, is that they came at the 2A level -- Ries wasn't facing the biggest, strongest, and fastest competition at that class. Still, production is production -- and Ries, who was named the had a lot of production. Iowa also has a strong history of developing small school standouts into top-tier Big Ten performers -- see: Cooper DeJean. Ries may not be the next DeJean, but he boasts plenty of tantalizing potential.