Iowa State football lands 3-star 2026 commit Malcolm Watkins

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Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers has his first commit since arriving in Ames.

Malcolm Watkins, who originally committed to Washington State, is flipping to Iowa State and following Rogers to join the Cyclones, per multiple reports. Watkins is a three-star athlete in the class of 2026, according to 247 Sports.

The Bakersfield, California, native also had offers from San Diego State, Fresno State, Oregon State, California, Nevada, San Jose State, UNLV and Sacramento State.

During his senior season at Frontier High School, he recorded 46 receptions for 768 yards and eight touchdowns. He also had eight carries for 32 yards and a touchdown. As a defensive back, he had 27 tackles and three pass breakups.

As of Dec. 15, the Cyclones still have 10 other scholarship commits and four preferred walk-ons remaining in Iowa State’s 2026 recruiting class after Matt Campbell’s departure. Some former signees have flipped to Penn State, while others have reopened their recruiting processes.

Iowa State football 2026 commitments

As of Dec. 15

  • Ajibola Afuye, DL | Stillwater, Minnesota/Stillwater HS
  • Mason Bandhauer, OL | Fort Collins, Colorado/Fort Collins HS
  • Drake DeBaun, TE | Overland Park, Kansas/Shawnee Mission South
  • Tayten Duncan, DB | Mustang, Oklahoma/Mustang HS
  • Carson Edney, TE/DE | Logan, Iowa/Logan-Magnolia (Preferred walk-on)
  • Zach Eskildsen, WR | Frisco, Texas/Frisco Centennial (Preferred walk-on)
  • Caleb Francois, RB | Minnetonka, Minnesota/Minnetonka HS
  • Brady Harr, TE/OL | Hampton, Iowa/Hampton-Dumont (Preferred walk-on)
  • Daniel Howard, DL | Chicago, Illinois/Lane Tech
  • Jeremy Lewis Jr., DL | St. Louis, Missouri/Iowa Western CC (JUCO)
  • Keaton Mennen, DL | Van Meter, Iowa/Van Meter (Preferred walk-on)
  • Elijah Reeder, DL | Bayville, New Jersey/Central Regional
  • Jeffrey Roberts, WR | Ames, Iowa/Dowling Catholic
  • Malcolm Watkins, ATH | Bakersfield, California/Frontier
  • Josiah Zayas, DB | Piscataway, New Jersey/Piscataway HS

Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State football lands 3-star 2026 commit Malcolm Watkins

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