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Four-star defensive end Iose Epenesa has bid farewell to his high school basketball career. Epenesa, the youngest brother of Buffalo Bills defensive end A.J. Epenesa, posted on Instagram on Monday, expressing gratitude for his high school basketball journey. He wrote:
“I am thankful for the people I met along the way and the teammates I was able to play with. I’m glad I was able to show everyone that I can hoop as well.”
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The four-star product of Edwardsville High School in Edwardsville, Illinois, is a multi-sport athlete who plays basketball and football and runs track. Epenesa stands at 6-foot-3, 265 pounds. He is the No. 27 overall football prospect in the 2025 class, per 247Sports, while he ranks at No. 5 in his position.
Iose Epenesa’s football recruitment and ties with Iowa
Iose Epenesa signed with the Iowa Hawkeyes in December after committing to the program earlier in August. He announced his commitment to the Hawkeyes over a Facetime call with head coach Kirk Ferentz. The four-star defensive end had 22 college offers to choose from. However, he favored the Hawkeyes over top programs like Penn State, Utah, Miami and Missouri.
Epenesa is from a football background with close ties to the Hawkeyes. His father, Eppy Epenesa, was a walk-on player for the program. His eldest brother, A.J., played for Iowa for three seasons before getting drafted by the Bills in 2020. His middle sibling, Eric, is currently a redshirt junior linebacker for Ferentz’s side.
His father, Eppy, was pleased he continued the family’s legacy of playing for Iowa. He said in an interview with On3:
“We’ve been praying for this day for a long time. I’m just glad he ended up where he wanted to be, and we’re going to go with it, and we’re going to keep praying he can have a good career and good journey up at Iowa.”
Iose Epenesa was a MaxPreps sophomore All-American in 2022. He recorded 46 tackles as a junior, with 10 tackles for loss and seven sacks. He finished his senior season in 2024 with 51 tackles and seven sacks.
