Iowa has officially signed 2024 wide receiver, Reece Vander Zee. The wide receiver prospect from Central Lyon High School in Rock Rapids, IA signed his letter of intent this morning.

Vander Zee chose Iowa over offers from several other programs, including Iowa State, Nebraska, Air Force, Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, South Dakota State, Northern Iowa, and several other FCS programs.

Vander Zee emerged as a priority target for Iowa this spring. After receiving his first offers from multiple FCS programs and a few MAC schools in mid-February, his recruitment began to heat up in late March. Vander Zee received an offer from March 21 and followed that up with his first Power 5 offers, from Iowa and Iowa State, on back-to-back recruiting visits to Iowa City and Ames. As members of the Go Iowa Awesome premium board know, we were bullish on Iowa's ability to land Vander Zee from early in the process, FutureCasting him to Iowa back in March.

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A native of Rock Rapids in northwest Iowa, Iowa's past success in that region gave the Hawkeyes an early leg up in his recruitment. "Coach (LeVar) Woods is someone that I've really connected with," he said after a visit last spring. "I know him well. There are some other northwest Iowa guys there like Landyn Van Kekerix. It's cool to have those guys."

Other notable Hawkeyes from northwest Iowa include Cooper DeJean from Odebolt and Kyson Van Vugt from Sioux Center.

Vander Zee's recruitment eventually narrowed to a two-team race between Iowa and Iowa State. After making official visits to both campuses in June, Vander Zee wasted little time in making his decision to commit to Iowa.

"I left Iowa on Sunday and felt really good about it," Vander Zee told us after announcing his decision in late June. "I felt like it was a good place for me. I didn't want to wait anymore. I can't wait to be a Hawkeye."

"When I went there and I was with all the guys, it was like a family," he added. "Everyone was really welcoming and everyone is really good friends. It's a family feel. I like the program -- they do all the little things right. They know what they're doing. It's worked for however long and it's going to work in the future, too."

Vander Zee caught 32 passes for 768 yards and ten touchdowns as a junior in 2022. He followed that up by becoming a do-everything quarterback for Central Lyon in 2023. Vander Zee completed 96-of-129 (74%) of his passes for 1288 yards and 14 touchdowns against just four interceptions.

On the ground, Vander Zee racked up 1,767 yards and 24 touchdowns and also added two touchdown receptions for 60 yards. On defense, Vander Zee added 41.5 tackles and two interceptions. He even returned six punts for 67 yards.

Friendship and connections to the current Iowa roster were key factors in Vander Zee's decision to commit to Iowa. Vander Zee committed to Iowa a day after close friend and Central Lyon teammate Graham Eben (who had 1,415 yards and 31 touchdowns on 188 carries, as well as 22 receptions for 271 yards and three receiving touchdowns) committed to Iowa as a preferred walk-on. Vander Zee's commitment came a year after Zach Lutmer, another friend and Central Lyon teammate, joined the Iowa program.

"I think Graham committing affected my choice a little bit," Vander Zee told us after he announced his commitment. Earlier in the recruiting process, Vander Zee had talked about Lutmer's influence as well. "[Zach] wants me to be a Hawkeye," Vander Zee said. "It'd definitely be cool to have someone I grew up with be on the same team as me."

"I'm obviously recruiting him to come to Iowa," Lutmer told us. "I tell him all the time that Iowa is the way to go. They're turning the offense around this year, and I think they'll show that. And for him to come in and compete for a spot right away -- that's probably one of the biggest things."