Keokuk High School varsity football player and junior Mason Claus has suddenly found his name at 27 on the top 40 Iowa high school football senior recruits in the 2026 class released by the Des Moines Register on Dec. 9, and written by Alyssa Hertel.
Claus is a linebacker and wide receiver while wearing the number five for the Chiefs and only played seven of the nine games of the 2024-25 season due to injury. Chiefs head football coach Marvin McNutt was not surprised by the news that Claus made the list, “Rightfully so, he works hard and leads our team as a junior, because he attacks the game.”
About 2,000 junior football players from all positions on 314 teams in Iowa that spanned all seven classes from 8-player to 5A and conferences were compared. The article’s explanation of the rankings suggested that it was meant to provide a list of which players to watch during their senior season in 2025 for college recruitment in 2026. Only 30 of the 314 teams in Iowa were represented and Keokuk was the only team from the region or Southeast Conference that made the cut.
Claus is in his third year on varsity and led the Chiefs in total and solo tackles and tackles for losses in the 2024-25 season. He was ranked second in total tackles playing seven out of the nine games as a junior in 3A in the state and as a sophomore in 3A he was ranked first in total and solo tackles when he played every game of the 2023-24 season. In his best game last season against Burlington, he was ranked fourteenth among juniors state-wide in all classes with 15.5 total tackles. The players were ranked based on game film, college interest, conversations with coaches and trainers and first-hand observations.
Some of the top 40 players made it all the way to the state championship game with their teams last season, seven to be exact, and three won. Claus, who is only one of six on the list that did not compete in the playoffs last season, led his team as far as he could, per the list provided in the article.
“We are going to continue to prepare him for the next level,” McNutt added, who is well suited to coach Claus as a wide receiver, which is the position McNutt successfully played for the Hawkeyes at the University of Iowa and was then drafted to the NFL. Afterward, he coached at the collegiate level.
“Attending college while playing football is the dream,” Claus said after being told he had been ranked on the senior recruit list. However, Claus is no stranger to excelling, as he has punched his ticket to state for track and field multiple times already and is ranked first in his class academically with a 4.0 GPA while he works on an associate’s degree. Claus is clearly ready for college in more ways than one and his dream would be to follow in Coach McNutt’s footsteps and play for Iowa, all while earning a degree in engineering.
“Football is a big part of my life, it is the one thing I love to do and I want to keep playing it for as long as I can,” Claus said. “I’m very grateful for this, I have put in a lot of work and next year you’re going to be surprised at where I will be at.”
Photo Credit: Iron Rail Photography, Pray Lawson
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Mason’s Stats (7 games as he was injured the last two games):
Defense
Tackles – 79.5
Solo Tackles – 52
Sacks – 3.5
Tackle for Loss – 11.0
Offense
Receptions – 22
Yards Receiving – 374
Yards Per Catch – 17.0
Receiving TDs – 4
FAST FACTS OF TOP 40 LIST (Bound & Des Moines Register)
- Claus is one of six in class 3A in the top 40.
- There are only 12 players ranked from class 3A and below, with 28 in classes 4A and 5A.
- In class 3A state-wide as a junior, Claus is ranked second in total tackles (7/9 games).
- As a junior in class 3A (7/9 games):
- Defense – ranked second in total tackles, fifth in solo tackles, eighth in sacks and fifth in TFL
- Offense – ranked 15th in receptions, 10th in yards received, fifth in yards per catch and 10th in receiving touchdowns.
