4 Hawkeyes Earn Athlon Preseason All-America Honors

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Four University of Iowa football players have garnered Athlon preseason All-America honors for the 2025 season, it was announced Wednesday by the publication.

Center Logan Jones, punter Rhys Dakin, and return specialist Kaden Wetjen were named second-team preseason All-Americans. Offensive tackle Gennings Dunker earned third team honors.

The Hawkeyes also had 11 players earn preseason All-Big Ten recognition by Athlon. Dakin, Dunker, Jones, and Wetjen were first-team selections, Beau Stephens (offensive guard), Ethan Hurkett (defensive end), Aaron Graves (defensive tackle), Xavier Nwankpa (defensive back), and senior Drew Stevens (placekicker) were second-team choices. Kamari Moulton (running back) and Max Llewellyn (defensive end) picked up third-team laurels.

Jones, who started 12 games as a junior, was a first-team all-conference selection and Phil Steele honorable mention All-American in 2024. The native of Council Bluffs, Iowa, anchored the Hawkeye offensive line that allowed just 17 sacks and helped Iowa rush for 2,564 yards, the most since 2002. Jones was named a preseason second-team All-American yesterday by Walter Camp.

Dunker started 11 contests as a junior and was a dominant force on the right side of Iowa’s offensive line that was recognized as a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award in 2024. The Lena, Illinois, native was a second-team all-conference honoree, as well as an Academic All-District selection. Dunker helped pave the way for Iowa’s offense rushing for more than 200 yards in seven games last season.

Graves started all 13 games in 2024, recording 33 tackles, including eight tackles for a loss (six sacks), three forced fumbles, three pass break-ups and two quarterback pressures. His three forced fumbles led the Big Ten. The native of Dayton, Iowa, was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection last season. Off the field, Graves was a second-team Academic All-American. Last month, Graves was one of 42 players named to the 2025 Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List.

Wetjen returns for his senior season after winning the 2024 Jet Award and Rodgers-Dwight Return Big Ten Specialist of the Year, as well as being voted first team all-conference. Wetjen’s 1,055 combined kick return yards in 2024 led the country by a wide margin. He was first in the FBS in kickoff return yards (727) and second in punt return yards (328). The  Williamsburg, Iowa, native had two returns for scores in 2024, including a 100-yard kickoff return against No. 19 Missouri in the Music City Bowl. Wetjen also returned a punt 85 yards for a score against Northwestern, the seventh-longest in school history. He had 100+ kickoff return yards in three straight games (Washington, Michigan State and Northwestern) in 2024, a first by a Hawkeye since at least 1978.

Dakin averaged 44.1 yards on 64 punts in 2024, which ranked fourth in the Big Ten and 24th nationally. His efforts earned the Australia native freshman All-America distinction by the Football Writers Association of America and second-team All-Big Ten accolades. Thirty-three of his punts were fair caught, 29 were downed inside the 20 and 16 traveled 50+ yards. Only five of his punts were touchbacks.

Hurkett, who will be a sixth-year senior in 2025, started all 13 games on the defensive line last season. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native led all defensive linemen, and ranked fifth on the team, with 56 tackles. He led the team with 11.5 tackles for loss, including 6.5 sacks, while also forcing three fumbles and registering two hurries. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native was an honorable mention all-conference honoree in 2024.

Llewellyn played in all 13 games and recorded 22 tackles and eight tackles for loss (5.5 sacks). He also notched three pass break-ups, a team-leading eight QB pressures, recovered two fumbles, forced a fumble, and scored the team's only safety in 2024.

Moulton played in 12 games, starting two, and rushed for 473 yards and three touchdowns. He amassed a career-high 114 yards, including a career-high long of 68 yards, and his second touchdown of the season in a 29-13 win at Maryland.

Stephens started 11 games at left guard in 2024. The native of Blue Springs, Missouri, helped the Hawkeyes average 197.2 rushing yards per game, which ranked third in the Big Ten and 24th nationally, and was the most for the program since 2002.

Stevens, a two-time all-conference honoree, connected on 20-of-23 field goals in 2024. He tied the school and SECU Stadium record with five made field goals in Iowa’s win at Maryland, and converted two field goals, including a 53-yard game winner as time expired, in the regular season finale versus Nebraska. The North Augusta, South Carolina, native has made a school-record eight field goals of 50 yards or more in his career, while his 1.54 field goals made per game in 2024 ranked fourth best in the Big Ten and 17th nationally.

The Hawkeyes open the 2025 season Aug. 30, hosting UAlbany at 5 p.m. (CT) on Duke Slater Field at Kinnick Stadium.

Athlon Preseason All-America Teams
Rhys Dakin, second team
Gennings Dunker, third team
Logan Jones, third team
Kaden Wetjen, second (PR)/third (KR) team

Athlon Preseason All-Big Ten Teams
First Team: Gennings Dunker (OT), Logan Jones (C), Rhys Dakin (P), Kaden Wetjen (KR/PR)
Second Team: Beau Stephens (OG), Ethan Hurkett (DE), Aaron Graves (DT), Xavier Nwankpa (DB), Drew Stevens (K)
Third Team: Max Llewellyn (DE), Kamari Moulton (RB)