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MLive is spending the summer checking in on the top high school football recruits in Michigan for the Class of 2027. Today, we highlight Goodrich lineman Drew Aagesen. Check out MLive’s full Top 50 list for Michigan high school football recruits by clicking here.
Bio
Position: OL/DL
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 285 pounds
40 Time: 4.75
Rating: 3-star according to 247sports composite rating, No. 23 overall in the state
MLive Rank: 23rd
Recruiting Status: Committed to Iowa State (May 30)
GOODRICH, MI – The hardwood has always been the heart of Drew Aagesen’s passion.
His quick feet and imposing force in the front court have made him a standout basketball player for Goodrich.
And up until his junior year, basketball was shaping up to be his primary focus.
“I was strictly a basketball kid,” Aagesen said. “I only played football during football.”
That was until Aagesen’s dominating presence carried over to the gridiron last season, skyrocketing not only his love for football but his name on the college recruiting trails.
“With him being 280 (pounds) and running a 4.7 (40-yard time), he turned some heads,” Goodrich football head coach Tom Alward said. “When they came and worked him out or saw him at a game, they saw how athletic he is. Once you get the attention of one of those schools, then it has other schools going, ‘Well, if they like him then I like him too. It snowballed from there.”
Basketball might not have the key to his heart any longer, but it’s certainly one of the main reasons his football career will be continuing for a Big 12 football program.
Aagesen announced his commitment to Iowa State University on May 30, capping off a breakout junior campaign for the Martians where he earned unanimous all-league honors, all-region and Division 4 second-team all-state honors.
The 6-foot-5, 285-pound lineman registered 40 tackles, 17 tackles for a loss, and nine sacks while anchoring the Goodrich defensive line.
“It was just knowing that I could do what I did,” Aagesen said. “I wasn’t a big football guy because I was a basketball guy. A couple weeks in, something just clicked in my mind and the game flowed super well. Especially on the defensive line, I think the basketball footwork and the ability to read what people were doing came naturally.”
The Goodrich defense allowed just under 15 points per game last season, posting an undefeated regular season, which included winning the Flint Metro League Stars and Flint Metro League outright in a 21-20 win over Fenton. Aagesen hauled in a 34-yard touchdown reception and blocked a potential game-tying extra point against Fenton.
One game separated Goodrich from making its way back to Ford Field for a shot at defending its 2024 state championship win last season, but Aagesen and company are prepared to do whatever it takes to bring the squad back.
“We have all the talent we need,” Aagesen said. “We’re really excited for this year.”
Position change
Opposing teams will still have to gameplan for Aagesen bulldozing his way into opposing backfields, but he’s looking to make an even larger impact on the offensive side.
Goodrich is a predominantly run-heavy offense that prioritizes efficient offensive line play, and Alward needed someone he could trust to slot into the starting tackle spot.
“He knows that he’s one of our premier players, but he’s willing to do the grunt work and everything else that the game requires,” Alward said. “Just like the move to tackle, he was more than willing to do that. That’s who he is and that’s what makes him special.”
Aagesen certainly laid his fair share of blocks last season as the starting tight end, but a move to tackle will only bolster a Goodrich offensive line graduating the majority of its starting core.
It’s an adjustment for a player who’s accustomed to planting his foot and charging the offensive line, but Aagesen said it’s a welcomed change.
Fortunately for Aagesen, he’s had former teammates to lean on for advice and workouts in Dominic Melaragni (Davenport University) and Miles Washington (Calvin University), who are both 2026 graduates entering their first collegiate football season.
“We’ll work on mobility stuff and stance stuff,” Aagesen said. “They’ve been a big help.”
Aagesen will start opposite of senior tackle Landon Scott, a 6-foot-6, 330-pound tackle who is also drawing collegiate interest.
When two sports intertwine
Aagesen may not be repping an Iowa State basketball jersey when he touches down onto campus, but the role the sport has played in his football development is immeasurable.
The quick hands at the line of scrimmage and agility he possesses for a lineman are traits he credits to his concentrated efforts in basketball, and coaches Denarryl Rice and Reggie Butler. Aagesen said Butler played a key role in improving his footwork.
“The footwork with basketball has always come naturally,” Aagesen said. “It takes a while to teach that good footwork to a big guy because big guys aren’t normally able to move very well. Having that basketball background really helped.”
Aagesen was a star forward for Goodrich this season before suffering a Jones fracture to his right foot in January, sidelining him for the remainder of the season. He still managed to earn second-team all-Flint Metro League Stars honors.
It was a crushing blow for the Martians and Aagesen, who had yet to receive his first offer, but the one thing it didn’t affect was the attention of college coaches, who came aggressively knocking after his injury.
The injury was of no concern to coaches, and that was a breath of fresh air for Aagesen, who had a strong recovery and picked up his first offer in late January from Miami (OH) University.
“It was actually at a (Goodrich) basketball game where I got my first offer from Miami (OH), and all the boys were in the locker room when I walked in,” Aagesen said. “They asked who was on the phone, and I told them that I got an offer. Everyone freaked out.”
Eastern Michigan and Kent State University extended offers days later, boosting Aagesen’s confidence for the road ahead.
Reflecting on both where his basketball and football relationships stand, Aagesen said he couldn’t imagine where things would be if he didn’t stay the path of football.
The future Cyclone had his sights set on solely pursuing basketball his sophomore season, taking half of his junior varsity football season off before admittedly regretting the decision.
“I came back out because I kind of realized that I missed it, but I was still a big basketball guy at the time,” Aagesen said. “It wasn’t until junior year when I realized I was pretty good at (football).”
It’s safe to say his intuition was correct, and it’s a decision both Aagesen and Goodrich are surely happy he made.
“Football, he’s made to play that game,” Alward said.
All roads lead to Ames
It pays to be early in the conversation, and Iowa State made sure to let its interest in Aagesen known.
After he received his first three initial offers, Iowa State was the first Power 4 program to extend an offer in early March.
A former Detroit Lions coach helped pave the way to landing Aagesen as a commit with head coach Jimmy Rogers, who was hired on December 5, 2025, prioritizing the trenches.
That’s where offensive coordinator Tyler Roehl, who was the Lions’ tight ends coach in 2025, and offensive line coach Jake Thornton played a vital role in the recruiting. Iowa State also landed a commitment from Hudson Area’s Koen Hinzman, a 2026 three-star and the No. 15 ranked prospect in Michigan.
“The first thing was definitely the coaches,” Aagesen said. “I know they say don’t pick a place based on the coaches, but it’s a new staff and they’ll be there for at least a couple years. They had a plan for me. Coach Thornton called me pretty much every day and was telling me about the guys he’s coached that have made it to the NFL. He’s taken basketball players that played defensive line and flipped them to offensive line and gotten them drafted.”
“Coach Roehl, having that experience in the pros with the Lions, was another big one,” Aagesen added. “He knows what he’s doing.”
The coaching staff was a strong point for Aagesen, but what mattered most was the comfortability factor. Aagesen said he was looking to step onto a campus that he immediately felt was the right fit.
Iowa State fit the mold, and it led to a commitment from Aagesen just two days later. Despite offers and official visits with the University of Wisconsin, Michigan State University, University of Virginia and University of Pittsburgh, Aagesen never wavered from Iowa State.
“There were other schools that I really liked, but I just kind of knew in my head that Iowa State was the place,” Aagesen said. “I just wanted to go through the process, especially going back and making sure that when I went on campus that it felt like home. When I went on my official visit, I looked at my parents on the first day and said, ‘Yeah, I’m going to have to do it.’”
He’ll have one final goal of leading Goodrich back to the state finals before carrying the same goal to Iowa State, which went 11-3 in 2024 and 8-4 in 2025.
The Cyclones are entering its post-Matt Campbell era, who led the program since 2016 and accepted the head coaching position at Penn State in December of 2025.
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