The Iowa Hawkeyes football team was founded in 1889 to represent the University of Iowa in intercollegiate competition, and it has participated in the sport every season since. Over the course of the team's history, individual Hawkeye players of exceptional ability have received many accolades.
Iowa has had several players inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, College Football Hall of Fame, Canadian Football Hall of Fame, and Iowa Sports Hall of Fame. Individual Hawkeyes have won many prestigious national awards, including the Outland Trophy, the Davey O'Brien Award, the Doak Walker Award, the Jim Thorpe Award, and the Heisman Trophy. 92 Hawkeyes have been named a first-team or second-team All-American, and 23 have been named consensus first-team All-Americans.
The Iowa Hawkeyes have had ten players win the Big Ten Most Valuable Player Award, and 219 Hawks have earned All-Big Ten recognition. Iowa has had 244 NFL draft picks, and several former Hawkeye players have gone on to become NFL head coaches or Division I college head coaches. This list outlines awards and honors for individual football players and coaches of the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Retired numbers
Two numbers have been retired by the Hawkeye football program, Nile Kinnick's #24 and Cal Jones' #62. Both Kinnick and Jones were consensus first team All-Americans, and both men tragically perished in separate plane crashes before their 25th birthday.
Kinnick won the University of Iowa's only Heisman Trophy in 1939 and is the man for whom Kinnick Stadium is named. Jones was the first African-American to win the Outland Trophy and is the only Hawkeye to be named first-team All-American three times.[1]
Hall of Fame inductees
Pro Hall of Fame
Three Hawkeyes have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame:[2]
College football
Nile Kinnick, Duke Slater, and coach Howard Jones were all inducted in the inaugural College Football Hall of Fame class in 1951. In all, nine players and five coaches now represent Iowa in the College Football Hall of Fame:
[3]
Canadian football
Three Hawkeyes have been inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame for their play in the Canadian Football League:
[4]
State of Iowa
The Iowa Sports Hall of Fame, sponsored by the Des Moines Register, honors outstanding athletes and sports contributors. To be eligible, members must have either been born in Iowa or gained prominence while competing for a college or university in Iowa. Aubrey Devine, Nile Kinnick, and Duke Slater were three of the five football players inducted when the Hall was founded in 1951. As of the end of the 2013 football season, 23 Hawkeye players and 3 Hawkeye coaches have been inducted into the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame:
[5]
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa started an athletics Hall of Fame in 1989. Ten football players were inducted in the initial class, and it has since expanded to include 47 football players and coaches:[6]
National honorees
Annual awards
Various organizations bestow annual awards recognizing the best college football player overall or at a specific position for that season, and several of these annual awards are considered highly prestigious honors. Some of these awards have been won by the following Hawkeyes:[7]
The most prestigious of these individual awards is the Heisman Trophy. Nile Kinnick won the award in 1939, and four other Hawkeyes have placed second in the voting. In all, nine Hawkeye players have finished in the top ten in the Heisman Trophy balloting, with Chuck Long doing so twice:[8]
All-American selections
Each year, numerous publications and organizations release lists of All-America teams, hypothetical rosters of players considered the best in the nation at their respective positions.[9] The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) uses officially recognized All-America selectors to determine the consensus selections. Over time, the sources used to determine the consensus selections have varied. Currently, the NCAA uses five "major" selectors to determine consensus All-Americans: the Associated Press (AP), American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), The Sporting News (TSN), and the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF).[10] Many other publications and organization compile their own "minor" All-America teams in addition to the selectors listed here.
Clyde Williams is often referred to as "Iowa's first All-American". Williams, who led the Hawkeyes to its first Big Ten championship in 1900, was named a third-team All-American by Walter Camp that season. Williams was the first player west of the Mississippi River to garner All-American honors.[11][12] However, since the following list constitutes only first-team and second-team All-Americans, Williams is not included here.
Through the 2013 season, Iowa has had 66 first-team All-Americans and 31 second-team All-Americans. Of Iowa's 66 first-team All-Americans, 23 players were consensus first-team All-American selections, while seven were unanimous first-team selections.[13][14]
| Key |
|---|
| Consensus/Unanimous first-team selection |
First-team selection |
Second-team selection |
|
Big Ten honorees
Most Valuable Players
The Chicago Tribune Silver Football has been awarded since 1924 by the Chicago Tribune to the college football player determined to be the Most Valuable Player of the Big Ten Conference. Ten Hawkeyes have won the Big Ten MVP award, the third largest number of winners by any school, trailing only Michigan and Ohio State:[15]
Annual individual honors
Coaches and media of the Big Ten also make annual selections for additional individual honors:[16]
All-conference selections
Through the 2013 season, Iowa has had 230 first team All-Big Ten selections, starting with Clyde Williams and Joe Warner in 1900. 51 players were multiple first-team All-Big Ten selections, and nine players were three-time first-team All-Big Ten selections.[17]
| Key |
|---|
| First selection |
Second selection |
Third selection |
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All-time team
In 1989, Iowa fans selected an all-time University of Iowa football team during the 100th anniversary celebration of Iowa football. Twelve starters and eight honorable mentions were selected on both offense and defense, along with a Most Valuable Player:[18]
NCAA FBS all-time records
The following is a list of team and individual NCAA FBS records that are held by the Iowa Hawkeyes.
- Best Perfect Passing Game - Iowa vs. Northwestern, 2002 - 12 for 12 (100 PCT.)
- Most Touchdowns on Fumble Returns - Iowa vs. Minnesota, 1994 - 2 (tied)
- Most Opponent's Field Goals Blocked, One Quarter - Iowa vs. Northern Iowa, 2009 - 2 (tied)
- Most Games Gaining 100 or More Rushing in a Season - Shonn Greene, 2008–13
- Most Consecutive Rushes for a Touchdown in a Game - Aaron Greving, Iowa vs. Kent State 2001 - 3 (tied), (TD's for 14, 1, & 26 yards)
- Highest Average per Punt in a Season (min. 40-49 punts) - Reggie Roby, 1981 - 49.8 (44 for 2,193)
- Most Passes Intercepted by a Linebacker in One Game - Grant Steen, Iowa vs. Indiana 2002 - 3 (tied)
- Players Gaining 1,000 Yards on Punt Returns and 1,000 Yards on Kickoff Returns in a Career - Tim Dwight, 1994-1997 - (1,051 & 1,133)
- Most Touchdowns Scored on Kick Returns in a Game (At Least One Punt Return & One Kickoff Return) - Kahlil Hill, Iowa vs. Western Michigan 1998 - 2 (tied)
- Most Blocked Field Goals in a Game - Kenny Iwebema, Iowa vs. Syracuse 2008 - 2 (tied)
- Passing for a Touchdown and Scoring on a Pass Reception and Punt Return in a Game - Tim Dwight, Iowa vs. Indiana 1997
- Most Field Goals Made, 50 Yards or More in a Game - Tim Douglas, Iowa vs. Illinois 1998 - 3 (tied), (51, 58, & 51 yards)
[19]
NFL draft picks
Iowa has had at least one player drafted in every NFL Draft since 1978. Through the 2015 NFL Draft, Iowa has had 277 draft picks. 249 in the NFL, 21 in the AFL, and 7 in the AAFC (the AFC and AAFC both merged with the NFL). and 75 players have gone in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft. Iowa has had 20 first round NFL Draft selections:[20]
Hawkeye head coaches
Several former Hawkeye players have later been named NFL head coaches or Division I college head coaches:[21]
| Coach |
Team & Years |
|---|
| Bret Bielema | Wisconsin, 2006-2012
Arkansas, 2013–Present |
| Jim Caldwell | Indianapolis Colts, 2009-2011
Detroit Lions, 2014–Present |
| Bob Commings | Iowa, 1974-1978 |
| Wesley Fry | Kansas State, 1935-1939 |
| Dennis Green | Northwestern, 1981-1985
Stanford, 1989-1991
Minnesota Vikings, 1992-2001
Arizona Cardinals, 2004-2006 |
| John G. Griffith | Iowa, 1909 |
| Chuck Long | San Diego State, 2006-2008 |
| Dan McCarney | Iowa State, 1995-2006
North Texas, 2011–Present |
| Leonard Raffensperger | Iowa, 1950-1951 |
| Bob Stoops | Oklahoma, 1999–present |
| Mark Stoops | Kentucky, 2013–Present |
| Mike Stoops | Arizona, 2004-2011 |
| Clyde Williams | Iowa State, 1907-1912 |
|
Other notable players
A few notable players not previously mentioned:
References
- ↑ Iowa Football Fact Book (PDF), 2008 Iowa Hawkeye Football Media Fact Book, Iowa Sports Information Department, Page 126.
- ↑ Pro Football Hall of Fame.
- ↑ College Football Hall of Fame.
- ↑ Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
- ↑ Iowa Sports Hall of Fame.
- ↑ Iowa Football Fact Book (PDF), 2008 Iowa Hawkeye Football Media Fact Book, Iowa Sports Information Department, Page 126.
- ↑ ESPN Awards.
- ↑ Heisman history.
- ↑ All-American.
- ↑ Award Winners and All-Americans (PDF), 2008 Division I Football Records Book, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Pages 218-219.
- ↑ Williams' State of Iowa Hall of Fame bio.
- ↑ 75 Years With The Fighting Hawkeyes, by Bert McCrane & Dick Lamb (ASIN: B0007E01F8), Page 25.
- ↑ http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2013/FBS.pdf, "2013 NCAA Football FBS Records", NCAA.org
- ↑ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/iowa/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/Factbook11.pdf, 2011 Iowa Hawkeye Football Media Fact Book, Iowa Sports Information Department
- ↑ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/iowa/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/Factbook11.pdf, 2011 Iowa Hawkeye Football Media Fact Book, Iowa Sports Information Department
- ↑ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/iowa/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/Factbook11.pdf, 2011 Iowa Hawkeye Football Media Fact Book, Iowa Sports Information Department
- ↑ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/iowa/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/Factbook11.pdf, 2011 Iowa Hawkeye Football Media Fact Book, Iowa Sports Information Department
- ↑ Iowa All-Time team
- ↑ http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2011/FBS.pdf
- ↑ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/iowa/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/Factbook11.pdf, 2011 Iowa Hawkeye Football Media Fact Book, Iowa Sports Information Department
- ↑ College Football Data Warehouse - Coaching Records.
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