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IOWA CITY, Iowa -- University of Iowa graduate center Logan Jones is the recipient of the 2025 Duke Slater Golden Gavel Award, which was voted upon by a group of Iowa media members who cover the program on a regular basis.
For the second consecutive year, only one vote separated the winner from the runner-up. Jones, a native of Council Bluffs, Iowa, is the fifth Iowa football player to earn the annual honor. He joins inaugural winner Kaevon Merriweather (2021), Spencer Petras (2022) and linebackers Jay Higgins (2023) and Nick Jackson (2024) among Golden Gavel recipients.
By description, “The Golden Gavel will go to the Iowa football player, who not only is most cooperative with local media, but exhibits themself with professional integrity in all interactions.”
“Throughout this process, Iowa’s media corps had strong opinions about who should win, but several members split nominations because they thought there were so many deserving candidates,” said Scott Dochterman, a college football writer with The Athletic who presented Jones with the Golden Gavel. “Logan Jones was one vote shy of sharing honors with Nick Jackson last year, and his earnest, honest and thoughtful answers no matter the situation has made him a favored interview throughout his career.”
A special mention goes to quarterback Mark Gronowski, who garnered plenty of support and finished one vote shy of his batterymate. Others receiving final votes from local media include cornerback T.J. Hall, running back Kamari Moulton and defensive backs Zach Lutmer and Koen Entringer.
The award is named after Duke Slater, a former Iowa All-American tackle who was a charter member of the College Football Hall of Fame in 1953 and a 2020 inductee of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Slater earned his law degree from the University of Iowa while playing in the NFL, and he became the first African-American elected to the Cook County Superior Court. The playing surface at Kinnick Stadium was renamed Duke Slater Field in summer 2021.