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Defensive end Iose Epenesa, the top-ranked player in Illinois from the Class of 2025, has followed his family legacy and committed to the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Epenesa is a four-star prospect ranked No. 42 in the country, No. 5 among defensive linemen and No. 1 in Illinois in the 247 Sports composite rankings. The senior at Edwardsville (Ill.) High School is the No. 1 defensive end and No. 21 player nationally in the ESPN 300.

He selected Iowa after also taking visits to Penn State, Missouri, Utah and Miami.

“We’ve been in this process for a while — almost four years now — we were all getting tired of it, so we came down, talked with the family and started getting down to business,” Epenesa told ESPN on Thursday. “It was time to figure it out.”

His brother, A.J. Epenesa, 25, is a former Hawkeyes star defensive lineman now in his fifth season with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. Their father, Eppy Epenesa, lettered as a defensive tackle at Iowa in the 1990s, and their brother, Eric, is currently a walk-on linebacker on the team.

“I had to ask questions about every single school,” Iose Epenesa said to ESPN. “It was all about depth charts and what really fit me and what was easiest for my family. The biggest thing for me was having my family come out and watch my games and to see me every once in a while. My brother is up there right now, and it’ll be awesome to play with him.”

The 6-foot-4, 270-pound prospect has recorded 122 tackles and 15 sacks in three high school seasons.

–Field Level Media