Will Hawthorne Season 2026

Before Nebraska (Ames HS/Iowa State)
Will Hawthorne spent one season at Iowa State before transferring to Nebraska. He redshirted in 2025 and did not play in a game.

Hawthorne came to Iowa State as a four-star prospect from Gilbert High School. He was the 2024 MaxPreps Iowa High School Football Player of the Year as a senior. A two-time district MVP, Hawthorne was a two-way player for Gilbert. In his high school career, Hawthorne had 177 tackles and 28.5 tackles for loss while also rushing for 3,482 yards and 46 touchdowns.

Hawthorne recorded 44.5 tackles, 10.0 tackles for loss, two sacks and three forced fumbles as a senior while also leading Class 4A with 28 rushing touchdowns. As a junior, Hawthorne led the Tigers with 63 tackles with 10 TFLs and 4.5 sacks. On offense he rushed for 774 yards and seven touchdowns. Hawthorne was ranked among the nation’s top 70 linebackers by ESPN.

Hawthorne comes from an athletic family as his father Greg was a tight end at UNI and his grandfather played football at Navy. Hawthorne’s brother, Drew, was a swimmer at Cincinnati, and his sister, Ava, is a guard for the Drake women’s basketball team.