May 3, 2007
IOWA CITY — University of Iowa football fans certainly don’t want to wish away the 2007 college football season, likely the last that will feature Kenny Iwebema on the defensive line. But that doesn’t mean those who follow the professional football aren’t already sizing up the prospects who could figure prominently in next year’s NFL Draft.
After a 2006 season shortened by injury, Iwebema, a 6-foot-4, 270-pound senior from Arlington, Texas, returned to the playing field for Iowa’s date with Texas in the 2006 Alamo Bowl and played a significant role in holding the Longhorns to a season-low 85 yards rushing.
Undoubtedly, it was that performance paired with his sophomore season when playing healthy, Iwebema recorded 10 tackles for loss, seven quarterback sacks and 47 total tackles en route to being named first team all-Big Ten, that has landed the product of Bowie High School on CBS Sportsline’s Pete Prisco’s list of the top prospects for next year’s NFL Draft.
“His season was cut short in 2006 because of shoulder surgery,” writes Prisco. “But when he’s on the field, he’s a force off the edge.”
To review Prisco’s entire list, click HERE.
Iowa had three players — offensive linemen Marhal Yanda and Mike Elgin, and tight end Scott Chandler — selected in the 2007 NFL Draft, marking the 30th straight year that a member of the Hawkeyese was selected in the NFL’s annual draft of the country’s best college football players. In addition the those student-athletes drafted, five additional Hawkeyes signed free agent contracts with NFL teams.
Click HERE to learn more about the Big Ten Network.