Hamilton standout commits to Iowa State

The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Verdon is the No. 44 player in Ohio and No. 71 defensive lineman in the country for the 2025 class, according to 247Sports. Verdon had 77 tackles this past season and led Hamilton with 14 tackles for loss. He has 147 total tackles in his three years at HHS.

“I was ready to get that out of the way. It was a tiring process,” Trey Verdon said. “I’m familiar with their defense over there, too. I should be playing a similar position I’m playing right now.”

Iowa State was one of the first five programs to offer the younger Verdon brother, extending an offer in November 2023. He chose the Cyclones over offers from Akron, Bowling Green, East Carolina, Kent State, Louisville, Massachusetts, Miami (Ohio), Ohio, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Toledo and Yale.

“First and foremost, I wanted to check out all of the schools that were interested,” Trey Verdon said. “I waited to make the decision after I saw everything. Eventually, I knew my choice.”

Malik finished up his junior redshirt season and was honorable mention All-Big 12 after seeing action in 10 games and starting in nine of them as a safety. He missed the final three games of the season due to injury. Malik finished fourth on the team with 47 tackles, and he had two interceptions and four pass breakups this past season.

“I’ll be looking forward to being with my brother,” Trey Verdon said. “But I still have to take care of business at Hamilton for one more season.”